Greenfield Road Database
Teachers' guidance for successful searching

This information is intended for teachers only to help them make the best use of the Greenfield Road database with their classes. It is not intended that children should have access to this file.

Knowing how to form questions when searching a database is key to success. If you are familiar with the fields under which the data have been entered this makes it simpler.

The fields contained in a census database changed over the years as it became necessary to fine-tune the data. The fields used in this database are:
Year
Year and record number
Number in household
Surname
First name
Relation to head of household
Marital status
Sex
Age
*Occupation
*Class of work
**Place of Birth
**County/Country of birth


*The difference between the entries in these two fields is sometimes difficult to establish. If your search on one is unsuccessful try searching on the second.

** In the earliest census data the place of birth was recorded as either Staffordshire or not Staffordshire. Later the field was modified to County/Country of birth.

In any search there may be more than one way to reach the correct answer and it is a useful exercise to debate the relative merits of each.

Do the children think the order of searches matters?


Specific help for searches
The questions are presented in random order.


Level 1

Was the screw nicker male or female?
Look for In Show results as
screw nicker Occupation Sex


How many people were called Bramwich?
Look for In Show results as
  Surname TOTAL


Was the farmer married or unmarried?
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation Marital status


What was the occupation of the oldest person?
Look for In Show results as
  Age Occupation
In this instance you will need to decide what age the oldest person might be. If you enter >50 you get a lot of results, so you need to refine until you are presented with only one.


How many empty houses were there?
Look for In Show results as
  Number in household TOTAL


What ages were the stone masons?
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation Age
Be careful not to pluralise 'stone mason' in the search.


How many children have not had their first birthday yet?
Look for In Show results as
  Age TOTAL


What is the surname of the family with the largest number of people in the household?
Look for In Show results as
  No in household Surname
As in a previous question you have to make a reasonable guess here, but it is instructive to see how children respond to this.


What are the surnames of the people who lived alone?
(Take care that you don't include empty homes.)
Look for In Show results as
  No in household Surname


How many people were lodging at Greenfield Road?
Look for In Show results as
  Relation to head of household TOTAL
What would be the word for someone who lodges?


Level 2
At this level you are presented with a complex search. However not all questions require both searches to be completed.

What are the surnames of girls who lived with their grandparents?
Look for In  
  Relation to head of household  
Look for In Show results as
    Surnames


What was the job of the Thomas who was 25?
Look for In  
  Age  
Look for In Show results as
  First name Occupation


How many people worked in agriculture in 1861?
Look for In  
  Year  
Look for In Show results as
  Class of work TOTAL


What was the surname of the largest household in 1871?
Look for In  
  Year  
Look for In Show results as
  No in household Surname


How many children (under 16) lived in Greenfield Road in 1851?
Look for In  
  Year  
Look for In Show results as
  Age TOTAL


In which place was the unmarried silversmith born?
Look for In  
  Occupation  
Look for In Show results as
  Marital status Place of birth


What was the name of the youngest person born in Scotland?
Look for In  
  Country of birth  
Look for In Show results as
  Age  
Do you think the result should be displayed as surname or first name?


How many adult males were there?
Look for In  
  Sex  
Look for In Show results as
  Age TOTAL


What was the first name of the youngest servant?
Look for In  
  Occupation  
Look for In Show results as
  Age First name


How many females lived in Greenfield Road in 1871?
Look for In  
  Year  
Look for In Show results as
  Sex TOTAL


Level 3

How old was Mary Phipps the scholar?
Look for In  
  First name  
Look for In  
  Surname  
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation Age


What age was the John Rogers who worked in agriculture?
Look for In  
  First name  
Look for In  
  Surname  
Look for In Show results as
  Class of work Age


What was the surname of the unmarried 27-year old gardener?
Look for In  
  Age  
Look for In  
  Marital status  
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation Surname


How many males were not working in 1881?
Look for In  
  Year  
Look for In  
  Sex  
Look for In Show results as
  Class of work TOTAL


How many unmarried males were born in London?
Look for In  
  Sex  
Look for In  
  Marital status  
Look for In Show results as
  County of birth TOTAL


How many married women were heads of households?
Look for In  
  Sex  
Look for In  
  Relation to head of household  
Look for In Show results as
  Marital status TOTAL


How many female scholars were born in Birmingham?
Look for In  
  Sex  
Look for In  
  Place of birth  
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation TOTAL


What was the first name of the 63 year-old optician who lived with six other people?
Look for In  
  Age  
Look for In  
  Number in household  
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation First name


What was the age of the youngest servant born in Harborne?
Look for In  
  Occupation  
Look for In  
  Place of birth  
Look for In Show results as
    Age


What was the surname of the labourer born in Staffordshire who lived in lodgings?
Look for In  
  County of birth  
Look for In  
  Relation to head of household  
Look for In Show results as
  Occupation Surname