On Sunday 21st March 2021 census forms were completed, many online, in England and Wales. The census in the United Kingdom is taken every ten years and researching our family history I have found it both useful but at times frustrating. It is useful in finding people who moved away from home as their place of birth had to be given from 1851 and family relationship from the same date whilst in 1841 census only occupation and whether or not born in the county where they were now resident was required. Also from 1851 age had to be stated (though this is not always accurate and could vary from census to census) whereas in 1841 census only the ages of children were accurate, adults’ ages being rounded up or down to nearest 5 years, though in some places adults’ ages were also accurate. In 1911 the head of the household completed the pre-printed form themself.
It was through the census that I picked up William Restorick, born 1806 Hawkchurch, after he deserted his wife Asenath children in 1835 and turned up in 1851 census at Thornham, Kent with a new wife, Mary Ann (Wakefield). His occupation was miller, as previously, and he always stated he was born in Devon, though at various places in that county! Divorce was impossible for ordinary people in those days so if a marriage broke down, it was often the case of one partner relocating to another part of the country and starting a new family. We have not found a wedding for William and Mary Ann so perhaps she was aware of the situation.
In the days before indexers carried out their work on the census returns, I had to buy a birth, death or marriage certificate near to a census year and hope the family were still there at census time.
As the surnames Restorick and Restarick are rare, the census enumerators who went from door to door in the past often misheard it (it is pronounced Restrick in the West Country) or when the census has been indexed sometimes the writing is misread, giving some strange variations that you would never dream of looking for.
Sometimes just the initials of the Christian names were used, or only one of two Christian names given to the enumerator, or the two reversed. Places of birth could also be misheard by enumerator or misread by indexer, eg Lynn, Dorsetshire for Lyme (Regis).
In one case, two Restarick children went down on 1871 census as Whawell as their mother remarried and her husband’s name was given for the children, though they later married as Restaricks.
Also, when a person was in a prison or mental asylum often only their initials were stated so James Restorick, son of William born in Beer, was found in 1871 census as J-R, his age and fact that he was a baker proving who he was. By 1881 they put the actual name. He was in various lunatic asylums from 1856 to 1899, finally dying in Strand Union Workhouse, Edmonton, London. In 1891 his brother Robert’s wife Caroline was listed as CR, age 64, in London County Asylum, the fact that it stated she was born in Carlow, Ireland, showed it was her as she had stated that on a previous census. In the same census Robert himself as in the City of London Workhouse and in 1901 in the City of London Asylum, Dartford, Kent.
Over the past few weeks I have been going through my lever-arch file reference folders adding information so that anyone can follow the information clearly.
Below are some of the variations, only some of which will be picked up as Restorick by a search:
Rastrick (for Restrick), Rustrick, Restrack, Restruck, Ristarick, Resterich, Restrick, Restabrick, Restonck, Nestarick, Westrick
Even after marriage a more common surname can be misread, eg Jane Frances Ridley (nee Restorick) becomes Rodley or the forename Cuttle instead of Crittle.
