Deciphering the "Extract From Census Forms" For Pensions Ireland

These forms provided me with the maiden names of two of my 2nd great-grandmothers and the marriage dates of two ancestral couples. Anyone 70 and older, who met the income requirements,  and wasn't recently released from prison, was entitled to a pension. They applied at the post office and their pension was paid to them at the post office. 

I've been taking a second look at the pension extract forms to try to figure out more precisely when my ancestors were born. My great-great grandparents' ages vary between 10 and 15 years in the various records I've collected. In one record my great-great grandmother was born before her parents' marriage. According to her death record she would have been a child when her daughter Ellen was born. 

Here is what I've gleaned through closer examination of these records. 

Information Provided by applicant (upper portion)

The information above the centered line, in the mid portion of the form, was mostly what was provided by the applicant. The notations above the line in code were of course made by the office staff. The applicant provided the information which included parents' names and the location of the family in either 1841 or 1851. 

Please state how old  you were and the names of your siblings

There are many common surnames and first names in certain locations in Ireland. The extractors sometimes asked applicants for the names of their siblings in order to locate the correct family. In the case below the extractor asked for the names of the siblings of this applicant in order of birth. 

Below is the applicant provided information for my great-great grandmother Mary Huane-Mullen. In order to qualify for the old age pension she applied for in 1920 she would have had to have been born in 1850, or before. The names of the children are in the birth order favorable to Mary's age claim. I believe she was born after the census year of 1851; she was not found on the census. It appears that the children who were found on the census had their ages added to the list given by Mary. Ages were likely added by  the extractor. It does appear the oldest children in the Huane family were 4 year old twins. The last child listed was Thomas who according to the records I've gathered was indeed the youngest. So it was common for the children to have been listed in birth order, but sometimes this order could have been changed in order to support the applicant's stated age for their pension claim. 

Two Pat Donnellan families so please provide more information

This extractor requested the mother's maiden name and list of siblings to separate two families with the same name. 

Ages added by extractor

Below you can see that the names are written in ink and the ages are later added in pencil from the census form. 

Information added by extractor regarding child's death

Here we see a child is noted as having died. The 1841 and 1851 censuses for Ireland included a table to list deaths of household members that occurred in the past 10 years. Catherine apparently wasn't found. Again the sibling names provided by the applicant were provided with the ages on the census form by the extractor. 

Extractor adds absent to Pats name

There was also a table on the 1841 and 1851 censuses for household members absent on census night. Below absent was added to Pat's name because he appeared listed in that table. The extractor doesn't add the ages of family members because he does that below the line, instead, as we will see. 

Step-sisters noted

Two of the household members below were step-sisters. These forms can provide additional information about relationships. 

Information extracted by pension officials (below mid portion of form)

Marriage date as recorded in the census

Adults were asked for their marriage year if married, they were asked  on the 1841 and 1851 censuses. The early 20th century pension applicants were generally living with their parents in those census years. It's also possible that a few of the applicants were themselves married during the census years. Below is the extracted information for my 2nd great-grandparents Patt & Nelly Mullen who were married in 1837, according to the census. I have found their marriage record and they were married in 1837. 

Lists of siblings of applicants names and ages extracted by officials

These lists appear below the midpoint line on the form. Here we see a list extracted from the actual census rather than provided by the applicant. The list includes ages and information from the death table on the census. Below we see a sibling of the applicant Pat died at age 5 in 1846, according to the census.

Sometimes the extractor went above and beyond

This extractor included a great deal of additional information from the census. This extract was made by the same person who added absent to Pat's name in the example from the applicants portion. This extractor noted they checked the absent table and death table of the census and reported what they found. I had wondered if all tables were checked. They also included the fact one household member was a nephew. 

Bap note what is that? 

I've seen "bap note" recorded on some of the pension forms. I have noticed pension payment amounts are recorded on forms even when the person wasn't found on the census. I wonder if a baptismal record was used instead of the census? 

In my great-great uncle's case it seems that a bap note informed them of the death of Michael's sibling, also named Michael, who died in 1848. I had assumed the death information came from the table in the 1851 census? There is an arrow pointing from the notation to this information. It was common for deaths to be recorded in the church books below a person's baptism. 

Michael Mullen isn't an uncommon name so that could be why he applied again giving his mother's maiden name. Another Michael Mullen could have died in 1848 from a family with the same parents' names. He apparently received his pension or at least a sum for a pension is recorded. His annual award would have been £16.14 annually. 

Certificate of Baptism as alternative

This note on a pension form implies that a baptism certificate could also serve as proof of birthdate. This applicant wanted the large town, near where my own ancestors lived, searched for the family. Without a street name the office wouldn't undertake such a large area search. It was suggested they get a copy of the baptismal certificate. I believe O.A.P means Old Age Pension. 

A side note

My great-great grandmother appears on two pension extraction forms. For some reason her name is crossed out and her brother John's name is added. Her address is given on both forms, and both forms state she was not found. John, however, was found and likely received a pension. Or was her name mistakenly written as John on the census? It's a mystery. 

I'm beginning to be able to decipher these forms after reviewing many of them. It's an interesting subject and not much has been written about these pension forms. 

If anyone has any corrections or additional information please let me know. 

 

The 1841 & 1851 Irish Census Death Information and absent household members

 

My 2nd great-grandfather Patrick Mullen's brother Michael Mullen applied for a pension in April of 1920. He applied before a majority of these census records were lost in the June 1922 fire at the public records office. Unfortunately he didn't get the pension because Pat and Ellen Mullen's children were not listed as living in their household on the 1851 Census. I surmised likely they were visiting local relatives (more on that later). I have seen children staying in the homes of aunts and uncles in the 1901 and 1910 Censuses. 

Something that puzzled me regarding Michael's 1851 census extract is the fact another child of Pat and Ellen is listed as Michael. This child died at age 1 according to this document. I didn't know where this information came from? He died in 1848 according to the extract. I didn't see deaths recorded on the 1851 census form I looked at? 

I emailed the Irish Family History Centre genealogist a question about where this information came from. You can email a question and tune in to their Friday Facebook live stream to get your answer. My question was answered during one of their streams and I found out that there was a separate part of the form that listed deaths that occurred in households over the past 10 years. 

Our family's forms were all lost in the 1922 fire. Forms for some places survived. It's interesting to look at the surviving forms recording deaths. You get an idea of age ranges of death and causes of death in that time period. 

One portion of the form lists members of the household who were alive and absent from the household on the night of the census day, and below that those who were dead. The cause of death was recorded along with the season the death occurred. 

Below you can see ages and causes of death listed. A 52 year old pensioner probably died of an infection that spread from his foot. A 17 year old died of decay? A 2 year old was said to have died of Colic. 

A problem I've run into with my theory that Pat and Ellen's children were staying with family members on census day is the fact they were supposed to be listed on the form as absent . Michael and his brother Patrick were supposed to have been alive in 1851 and should have been listed as absent. They apparently were not listed as absent on that form according the the 1920 census extract form. It's difficult to say exactly when these brothers were born; the surviving documents I've collected don't agree. It's possible they were born after 1851 and they lied about their ages for some reason? According to the records my ancestor Pat Mullen may have been born between 1837 and 1850. With such a wide range of years he could have been born in 1851 even; since the dates are all over the place anything is possible. When my ancestor Pat Mullen married in 1880 his age was given as 30 

According to Pat's death certificate he was 93 years old when he died in 1930.  Dying at an age that advanced would have been unusual for that time period in Ireland. There is longevity in our Mullen family however. His daughter Sr. Mary Kathleen died at age 103. If he were born the year his parents married in 1837 it's possible he was already living away from home in 1851 because child labor was not illegal at the time. That doesn't explain why Michael would have been missing. His tombstone states he was born in 1850. He was younger than Patrick and should have still lived at home. We know the Mullen's had another child named Michael who died in 1848. It would stand to reason that the second Michael would have been born after that. Many of these forms weren't fully filled in so it's possible the census taker failed to ask about absent family members? 

Here is another example of a form with absent household members and deceased household members listed. It was not uncommon for someone to be away from home on census day. 

Correction: I jumped to the wrong conclusion as someone pointed out

I assumed that every person who extracted information from these censuses extracted every name. My Huvane family extract included all of the children not just the applicant. 

Michael Mullen's application says "no return of applicant". So most likely this extractor didn't extract every name. 

The census extract has left me with more questions about when the Mullen children were born and where they were during the census? (Although now we might assume only Michael is missing) With few records surviving the fire and missing church records for the family parish we may never know exactly when the children were born or where they were living on census day 1851.