Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

I have been searching for a long time for my SEAGER family on the 1841 Census and was wondering if anyone would have any more luck than me! They are:

William SEAGER, a whitesmith, who was dead by the 1851 census and his wife Elizabeth SEAGER (nee SMITH) who was born about 1788 in either Skelmersdale or Ormskirk. I have found her on the 1851 & 1861 census.

Their children were:

1) James SEAGER b. 1808, Liverpool
2) William SEAGER b. 1815, Liverpool. (My 3x gt grandfather - I have him on the 1841 census with his wife)
3) Mary Anne SEAGER b. 1818, Liverpool
4) Elizabeth SEAGER b. 1820, Liverpool
5) Thomas SEAGER, b. 1822, Liverpool
6) Jane SEAGER, b. 1826, Liverpool

Of their children, I have Thomas on subsequent censuses so I know that he was definitely alive.

Thanks for any help!

Hi,
With regard to the 1841 census it is necessary to remember when doing searches based on a name and YoB, that the ages written on the household census form were required to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years for all people aged over 15. So age 29 would be written as 25; age 18 would be 15; 37 would be 30, and so on. Not all householders followed the 'rule' however which does complicate things. Ages under 15 were to be written as exact ages, not rounded down. The written age is what the transcriber sees and from that is calculated a year of birth. When you search the database a birth year could be out by 4 years or even more if the householder made a mistake in his/her age.

In addition, spellings of names could vary considerably, as they do in all censuses but more often in the earlier ones due to the low level of literacy. As an instance could this be James Seager?

SAGGER, James - 30 - 1811 - Joiner - Lancashire
SAGGER, Eliza - 30 - 1811 - Lancashire
SAGGER, Ann - 4 - 1837 - Lancashire
SAGGER, James - 2 - 1839 - Lancashire
SAGGER, John - 1 - 1840 - Lancashire
HO107 - Piece: 558 - Book/Folio: 2/10 - Page: 12
Address: Falkland Street, Liverpool.

Taking the census page the Sagger family are on as an example you will see adult ages end with an 0 or 5.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Karen wrote: William SEAGER, a whitesmith, who was dead by the 1851 census and his wife Elizabeth SEAGER (nee SMITH) who was born about 1788 in either Skelmersdale or Ormskirk. I have found her on the 1851 & 1861 census.

Dickiesam has made a good guess at the family he has found for James. However it's a little difficult to be sure of this as we aren't aware of where they might be living. You say you have found "her" on the subsequent censuses - where? and who was she with. The ideal information to give us is to transcribe the census entries, as you see above for the 1841 census, and please include the references.

Karen wrote: Their children were:

If Elizabeth is one of the few found in later censuses, where have you got the information for the children from? As all of the children were born prior to civil registration, you presumably don't have a birth certificate for any of them, what evidence do you have that Elizabeth's maiden name was Smith?

Sorry for all the questions, but for us to help with your search we need to see the whole picture.

MaryA wrote: what evidence do you have that Elizabeth's maiden name was Smith?

Answering my own question - Online Parish Clerk, which also gives some addresses, providing an idea of the area they lived in. In the order of date the children are listed above

Cook St.
Adlington Street
Upper Frederick St
Frederick St

Occupations for the father given variously as Smith, Enginesmith or Blacksmith.

Hi Karen ,

Strange question I know but are you a teacher? I'm looking to get in touch with an old teacher from a while back.

Thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'm afraid that Karen only made that one post and never returned to the forum, I doubt you will receive a response, sorry.

Hi

Thanks for your reply. I've been looking for years and thought I my just have struck lucky!

Oh well may my search continue !

I am the same Karen who posted the original message. I had problems with logging in and internet access for a while so set up a new account when I became a member.

I have replied directly to Clare.

Hi all ,

Just to let you know that the Karen on here was not the person I am looking for . However I would like to thank her for her quick reply to my messages and also to dickiesam who has helped me to uncover another potential lead (letter went in the post on Monday ).

If anyone else could help me I would be eternally grateful. Please feel free to PM me for details. Thanks again guys !

What a shame your contact wasn't successful, but glad our members have been useful to you.

If you are seeking help with a query why not post one of your own and see if we can help.