Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Ireland Census Search Forms, 1841 & 1851

"This collection will include Irish Census Search forms images from 1841-1851. The government used these forms to search the 1841 and 1851 Census Search Forms to prove the age of people applying for the Old Age Pension (age 70 or older) during the period between 1915 and 1922, with some records as early as 1908 . This was necessary when birth certificates did not exist because the person was born before Civil Registration had begun for births (1864). This collection was originally captured at the National Archives of Ireland and the index was created by FindMyPast.com." Source & searches available:https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ireland_Census_Search_Forms,_1841_and_1851_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

Also check out this from the National Archives of Ireland http://censussearchforms.nationalarchives.ie/search/cs/home.jsp I am going to copy and paste their explanation here, just in case it ever disappears as it's the best description I've seen.
"The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 introduced a non-contributory pension for eligible people aged 70 and over. It was implemented from January 1909 in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. To be eligible, applicants had to be 70 years old, to have an income of less than £31.10.00 per annum and to 'be of good character'. During the first three months of 1909, 261,668 applications were made in Ireland. By 31 March 1910, 180,974 Irish pensions had been granted. The level of take-up from those eligible in Ireland was 98%, as opposed to 45% in England and Wales, demonstrating the need for such a measure due to widespread poverty. The full pension of 5 shillings per week for a single person, or 7 shillings per week for a married couple, was available to those with an income of less than £21.00.00 per annum.

Proof of age was an essential part of the process of application for a pension. Because civil registration of births did not begin in Ireland until 1864, applicants had no official documentation to prove their age. It was decided that searches of the 1841 and 1851 census returns, still in the Public Record Office at this time, could produce acceptable documentary evidence of a claimant's age. The claimant had to provide parents' names and their residence in March 1841/1851. They also had to state the age they believed themselves to have been in the appropriate year. These forms were sent to the Public Record Office where searches were carried out to prove eligibility. When a search could not find the claimant, the form was returned with 'not found' or 'no trace' written on it. Even then, you will get the claimant's version of his family members' names and location in 1841 or 1851. But many searches were successful, and these can often provide the names and ages of every person living in the claimant's household at the time of the relevant census." Now go ahead and read more here http://censussearchforms.nationalarchives.ie/search/cs/home.jsp AND search here http://censussearchforms.nationalarchives.ie/search/cs/index.jsp

So I began writing this post some three hours ago, then I got caught up doing searches to see how they really worked and am having the MOST fun!! Hahaha I believe I've finally found some of 'mine' and that seldom happens anymore. Now I remember how much fun this genealogy stuff really IS. LOL

It is now one day since I wrote this initial post AND I'm still digging through these records. What I have discovered this morning is that FindMyPast also has these records AND that what I'm finding on all three websites is almost always COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! People show up on one site, but not on the other two, or vice-versa. This just proves once more that we cannot stop until we exhaust everything available. Crazy!!


Cheers,
Pat

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