Leitrim-Roscommon

Hi everyone!

Was it common for people to misrepresent their age on the census. An example: My GGGF John Kiernan and my GGGM Eliza Charles Kiernan (Drummucker, Leitrim) were listed as [b][u]50 years old [/u][/b]in the 1901 census. Other members of the household were Eliza (29) my GGM and her children John (3) my GF and Elizabeth (1). John my GF was born in NY in 1898 so I know his age is correct.

At that time there were 6 families/households in the 1901 census in Drummucker (Kiernan, Kiernan, McCartan, McGivney, McGivney, McCaffrey)

The 1911 census lists almost the same families with one change (Kiernan, Kiernan, McCartan, McGivney, McGivney, White).

Did families move that often in those years or did they stay in the same area? If they didn't move then I'm quite sure the Elizabeth below is related.

Here's the problem!
The 1911 census list one Kiernan as Elizabeth - Eliza? (74) as the head of household. No one else is listed on the census, so John my GGGF must have past away between 1901 and 1911 and the others I know returned to the US (my GGM and GF).

Why the disceprency between the 1901 (50 yrs old) and 1911 (74 years old) for Eliza? That is a 24 year difference over 10 years! Did they misrepresent their age by 15 years?

Any help or information would be helpful.
Thanks,
Jeff

I have found something similar with some of my relatives in relation to the 1901 and 1911 censuses.

John Grenham notes in his book, 'Tracing your Irish Ancestors', that "in the decade between the two censuses most people appear to have aged significantly more than ten years. Of the two, 1901 seems to be the less accurate, with widespread underestimation of age".

One other thing to bear in mind is that the Old Age Pension was introduced in Ireland in 1909 and the qualifying age was 70.

Hope this is of some help.

Urs

The same is true for the US census. My grandfather lied about his age when he applied for a railroad job. And I have found quite a few other relatives whose ages change from one census to the next.