cen 9 1861 census Ball Green, Stoke-on-Trent

The 1871 census follows on with this study of Ball Green, its family relationship as well as its relationship with itself as the majority worked together in the local coal mine.

It is interesting to use along with the other census returns to both follow families throughout time and also to obtain a visual of how and when other occupations started to appear in the village. Make a good project for a local history group or local school to draw conclusions.

The 1851 is the first census that is reliable especially regarding the ages, even so many parents had no idea how old their children were as birthdays were not celebrated as they are now.
Not only useful for family research, but this census gives an insight to the very nature of workhouses, the break-up of families just to survive. A study of each location of birth gives data regarding areas of poverty or unemployment. Other areas can be identified as wealthy. The grouping of ages also gives remarkable results for students of humanities. Lastly the gender balance in certain areas can be identified.

This 1901 census is a follow-up of the 1881 census for the same place and with the twenty year interval between the two dates gives the ideal opportunity for a comparitive study comparing the results for every part of the census return to make a accurate assumprion of changes both in occupations and family size but also places of birth and ages and if the area for this had expalded over the period of study.