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I'm sure there is some truth in what you are saying, but, holding back census data for 72 or 100-years for "privacy reasons" is incomprehensible. To me, it's like sealing-up some government records (ie; Kennedy assassination, etc) 50-75 years ... for "national security" reasons.
In addition to claimed "privacy issues," I believe there is an 'elephant in the room-sized bureaucratic control element' - It is designed solely to justify the existence and protect the funding of some inner-departmental agencies and career politicians.
I really don't see how keeping census records private for a certain amount of years has any influence on this. There seems to be an increase in people trying to make genealogy topics into political topics lately. That's not what this forum is for.
People are entitled to some degree of privacy. Census records contain a lot of details, some of which people feel should be private for some amount of time.
Of course the 1950 census data will still not be available until 2022! The 72-year embargo rule on census data seems absurd -- It really makes genealogy research much more difficult with little or no obvious benefit. As far as I can see, it's only another bureaucratic overreach.
I have relatives who are alive today who are on the 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses and they don't like that any of them area available!!
I do kind of "get" the feeling that it is weird seeing documents of yourself. I also think that 72 years is a good amount of time. 100 years, like in England is too much IMO! 72 years gives people time to die off who you find juicy stuff about lol.
I really don't see how keeping census records private for a certain amount of years has any influence on this. There seems to be an increase in people trying to make genealogy topics into political topics lately. That's not what this forum is for.
People are entitled to some degree of privacy. Census records contain a lot of details, some of which people feel should be private for some amount of time.
I agree with this.
Censuses do have a lot of information on them and I can understand the 72 year rule completely.
I agree.. The problem is.. The great Census data.. I'd say 1990 and forward.. Most of us won't be around to see released.
Think about that.. Probably all computerized when it was entered, typed out, no "Is that name Marie, Mary or Bob?".. No translating handwriting..
If you've looked at 1900 and before census data, you know what I mean here.
Did we even include our names in the more recent census collections? I can't remember.
But going back, I remember sitting at the computer with my mother when she was about 80. We were looking at the 1930 census on Ancestry... before it was indexed. Mom remembered some of the street addresses where she and her cousins had lived. We found quite a few family groups just based on her memory of who lived around the corner from each other. I think we probably looked at a map to spark her memory of some of the street names. We both had a good time with that. But that was all before we all became so concerned about identity theft.
I agree.. The problem is.. The great Census data.. I'd say 1990 and forward.. Most of us won't be around to see released.
Think about that.. Probably all computerized when it was entered, typed out, no "Is that name Marie, Mary or Bob?".. No translating handwriting..
If you've looked at 1900 and before census data, you know what I mean here.
I've actually wondered if there is a hard copy of the later census records. Say all our technology crashes, would our descendants even be able to review that info.
I don't like that everything is electronic.
Will note on other posts that I do remember filling out the 2000 and 2010 censuses and they did ask for names and a whole lot of information. I was excited to finally fill one out since I use them so much in my own research.
And I have no problem not being around to see the census released. I hope I'm not around when the first one I'm on comes out lol. I showed one of my aunts herself on the 1940 census and she didn't like it. Said it was freaky and sad. I was asking her about some of our relatives, namely her grandmother who she didn't really remember much about when I asked where they lived. I found out via the census that her grandmother lived next door to her in 1940 and brought it over. Other relatives lived on either side and a lot of memories flooded back to her and it made her kind of sad that she was so old and there's not many people left in our family in her generation. She had forgotten about all her aunts/uncles who lived next door to her until looking at that and then she remembered some great stories. But she didn't like seeing herself on the form.
hi everyone,
thanks for all the message's you have added, there are lots of different opinion's.
we have the 1939 register which does blank the name out of children who could
be still alive. but if you have the right family, you can get round it.
I have to say, what I find sad that any child born and died between the census
are lost. the English census for 1911 has down, the number of children who was
born alive, living and number who has died. I can only speak about my own census.
I know it make me happy to see my family on paper, but that's just me.
hi everyone,
thanks for all the message's you have added, there are lots of different opinion's.
we have the 1939 register which does blank the name out of children who could
be still alive. but if you have the right family, you can get round it.
I have to say, what I find sad that any child born and died between the census
are lost. the English census for 1911 has down, the number of children who was
born alive, living and number who has died. I can only speak about my own census.
I know it make me happy to see my family on paper, but that's just me.
billy.
I haven't done any research in England. Do they have death registers that you can review by local area? Usually for children, I find my own ancestors in America on death registers or birth registers. Also for those who may have died young/before being enumerated as an adult on the census, I've found them via local city/town directories.
I have a 3rd great grandfather who I had never seen on a Census. He died in 1897 and in America our 1890 Census was lost in a fire for the entire nation. That would have been the first census he was on as an adult. I never found him as a child on the census (because I learned only this past year, that he was enumerated with his stepfather's last name and not his biological father's last name - he was born in 1863 but his father died that year and his mom re-married so he was enumerated in 1870 with his stepfather's last name. That stepfather died in 1872 and his mother re-married again and in 1880 he was enumerated with his 2nd stepfather's last name! I only recently discovered this via some pension files I went to review in Washington DC that gave me a lot of clues about someone who I had a hunch was a relative of his. Turned out that this individual was his older half brother and that this brother had also married an aunt of my 3rd great grandfather so I was able to find his mother's maiden name and track her marriages - I was not certain of his parentage until reviewing this information). However, this 3rd great grandfather was in our city directory starting in 1882 when he was 19 years old. He was in the directory through the entire 1880 decade and in the 1890 decade until he died. He was listed as deceased of TB on a death register and his only child's birth was registered with him as the father of the child in 1892 on a birth register. So I have lots of things he was listed on via paper/documentation.
Often where I'm from, in our directory, they would list all the persons who died that year in the directory, including children so I've found a lot of children's death notices/registers in the city directory.
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