Joseph Dodd and the English Census

Since I was contacted by a Scottish cousin (Vivian), I've been going back and looking at the English lines (Dodd and Anderson). I decided to confirm my census references for Joseph Dodd, because I didn't want to send Vivian on a fool's errand.

I started with the 1881 census, because I had a street address. Agnes (Anderson) Dodd's uncle (Robert McKee) died 17 Sep 1880 and his intestate letters include an address for the Dodd family in England: 33 Old Cross Street, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancastershire, England. With this entry, I could begin to track backward in the censuses.

1881 Census: Shows Joseph Dodd (46) with Agnes and a street address of 33 Old Cross St., Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire, England. He's working as an Overlooker Cotton Weavers. They have the following children: Sarah (21), Fredrick (20), Albert (14), Louisa (11), Robert (9), George (7), and Agnes (5).

1871 Census: Shows Joseph Dodd (35) with Agnes and an address of Dukinfield, St. John the Evangelist, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire, England. They have the following children: Sarah (12), Fredrick (10), Albert (5), and Louisa (1).

1861 Census: Shows Joseph Dodd (27) with Agnes and an address of Dukinfield, St. Mark parish, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire, England. They have the following children: Sarah (1) Fredick (1 month). Agnes' mother (Agnes (McKee) Anderson) is with them.

1857 Marriage: Vivian sent me the marriage certificate for Joseph and Agnes. The certificate says that Joseph's father's name is Thomas Dodd. So I started looking for a Thomas with a son of Jospeh in Cheshire.

1851 Census: Shows Joseph Dodd (15) with the family of John Dodd (uncle). Thomas and Mary--Joseph's parents--are living with John's family. The address is Wirral, St. Mary parish, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Joseph's birth place is listed as Wallasey, which is in Cheshire, England.

1841 Census: Shows Joseph Dodd (6) with his family in Wirrall (Lower Division), Birkenhead, Cheshire, England.

Unfortunately, birth registration doesn't start until 1837. However, I have a christening record for Joseph that shows that he was christened 21 Jun 1835. His parents are Thomas and Mary Dodd and their residence is listed as St. Hillary, Wallasey, Cheshire, England. So I'm pretty confident that the 1841 and 1851 census records are for the correct family.

I've sent Vivian the census records so that if she goes looking she will at least have what I think is correct. It will be interesting to see if she comes up with different information.