Almost a million searches performed since launch
The first half-day of the census launch is going well so far.
As of 1pm, family historians have performed 925,000 searches on the 1911 Census website.
Tags: launch, searches
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on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Product, Service update.
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January 13th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
It would have been lovely to be able to get onto the website and join them!! I thought the extra servers were supposed to be able to keep up with demand??
January 13th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Too Expensive for Me
January 13th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Hello Zoe,
We have no reported issues with the site at the present time and everything seems to be working OK, so you should be able to access it at http://www.1911census.co.uk
Best Wishes,
Ian Tester, findmypast.com
January 13th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I have been trying all day and cannot get onto the website???
January 13th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Website appears down for me as well.
January 13th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Excitedly tried to join the searchers before 1pm but couldn’t access the site. I thought the extra servers were to avoid a repeat of the 1901 launch fiasco!
January 13th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Attention Ian Tester
Oh dear I am afraid you do not know what is happening in the real world. It is not possible to join the website just as Zoe advised. I would suggest you try getting into it yourself. Basically if you are lucky you get an error message or otherwise nothing.
Your servers have failed again
Geoff
January 13th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I too have been trying to view the website all day with no luck. I have tried from several computers in several places. then i tried to post this comment and it siad that i was trying to post comments to quickly. Really!
January 13th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I guess with view to the positive comments coming from the website that we, whom have had problems, will get some complimentary downloads etc. ??????????
Just wishful thinking that there may be some compensation for the time I and many others have wasted trying to get on to the website
Geoff
January 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
No luck either - just get unavailable - very very disappointing - site also seems very very expensive - I will stick to the Genealogist site.
January 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Thanks for your comments. I have checked with the technical team here for any known issues and we have also tried accessing the site from several locations inside and outside the UK with no problems.
The site is currently operating at a fraction of its capacity so we cannot explain why you should be having problems getting in. It may be a localised problem with your internet connection or your internet browser. We recommend restarting your computer and browser, and also pressing the CTRL and F5 key together (which will “clear your cache”) if you still have problems on the site.
If you are still having problems, please send an email to the Customer Support team by emailing support@1911census.co.uk and they will try to help you from there.
Best Wishes,
Ian Tester, findmypast.com
January 13th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Why does it leave this comment on the website then??
We’re sorry, 1911census.co.uk is experiencing technical problems
The site is unavailable at the moment. If you were logged in your session may have been terminated, but please do not worry – you will not lose any credits. When we have resolved the problem you will be able to log in again as usual.
We apologise for the delay this may cause to your search.
For real-time updates on the status of the site visit the 1911 blog.
Thank you for your patience.
The 1911census.co.uk team
January 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I was able to access the site at 11pm last night, with no problems at all, strangely, as the site wasn’t meant to go live till midnight. I have been trying again today, but the site has been down all day. Its definitely not my computer or browser. Sorry, but it has to be your end.
January 13th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I have been trying to access the site for many hours. All I get is a message telling me that the 1911 website is experiencing technical problems.
January 13th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Dear me,
Earlier in the day there were DNS issues, which seem to be resolved.
Please now refer to the web site message below, timed shortly before Ian Tester’s post:
We’re sorry, 1911census.co.uk is experiencing technical problems
The site is unavailable at the moment. If you were logged in your session may have been terminated, but please do not worry – you will not lose any credits. When we have resolved the problem you will be able to log in again as usual.
We apologise for the delay this may cause to your search.
For real-time updates on the status of the site visit the 1911 blog.
Thank you for your patience.
The 1911census.co.uk team
January 13th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Ian, tried all of that, still no joy. Having no other problems with other websites.
This is the message I get, and keep getting:
Content Encoding Error
The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression.
The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression.
* Please contact the web site owners to inform them of this problem.
January 13th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
When will it be avaiable as part the subscription package? I am sure alot of people want to know that so can you please tell us. I have just renewed for the next year, but I can not afford to pay for an image as well.
I have found the site easy to use and have had no problem in getting on.
Mark
January 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I registered on the Beta test site in December, but cannot remember my password. Today on signing in you have my correct e:mail address but when I follow “forgotten Password” route I’m told there are technical problems with the site. I first tried this at 10 a.m. and still at 5 p.m. there appears to be technical problems. Help
January 13th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Hi Folks at the FMP site.
Far far to expensive to use..such a shame but Ancestry wins hands down with its subscription method of payment.
I was so excited when I heard that you were handling the 1911 but now I have decided your charges are way over the top, such dissapointment to see you charging to much for the 1911.
SORRY “FMP” BUT NOT FOR ME.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Whilst it is laudable that you have taken on the publishing of the 1911 Census your preparation seems somewhat lacking. I too have been presented with the “We’re sorry” page.
Also why is it so damnably expensive?
If as you say you’ve had nearly a million searches performed - which I can believe - how many credits have been used?
If it’s lots then you can afford to reduce the price - if it’s very few then it’s too expensive.
Am I the only one who’s heard of the Credit Crunch?
January 13th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
You say on your website that no public funds were used to create this database, so justifying the charges. I wonder then who paid for the information to be collected in the first place (in 1911).
January 13th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Got onto the site OK and basic search resuklts seemed quite quick.
Far too expensive though.
We are in a recession !!
January 13th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Hi, tried the site tonight, but am getting nil results on searches.
The searches are to update existing data.
Why am I not getting results?
Regards G
January 13th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
lovely website, no problems with access, been on all day from Wales… Problem is, there’s no one from wales on here. grrrrr.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I first had a quick look at 6am before i left for work at 6.30 and have looked forward to seeig more this evening. I have found a few relatives but unfortunately not the two I really need. how ancestors can be ellusive sometimes. Not bad for first day been logged out a few times - so ended up on this blog. Warning to others be careful with your credits - make sure you have your research infront of you. Good luck anyway really pleased this census has come in early - bound to be teething problems with search a big project
January 13th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I have only managed to access the site once today and just keep getting the ‘experiencing technical problems’ message.
When I did manage a search it was very fruitful though and my mother was very excited to learn more about her own mother who died in 1935 when my mum was only aged 8.
Hope the problems get sorted.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I have been on to the site- 9 pm Tuesday- and found my ancestor straight away, but when tried to register on the site I was told my password didn’t match my email address although I had only just tried to register.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Following this link from Google :
The Official 1911 Census Website
http://www.1911census.co.uk/learn-about-the-census.php
consistently results in the ‘We’re sorry’ page.
Following the link below gets you in instantly.
http://www.1911census.co.uk/
Hope this helps others.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Ahhh…. I have been using the link I added to my favorites a while ago to access the website (http://www.1911census.co.uk/learn-about-the-census.php)… it could be that many have done the same.
As the link includes ‘learn-about-the-census.php’ you are now taken to an invalid page.
Access the page with just http://www.1911census.co.uk and it is working fine.
Hope this helps.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Like Ian says, very expensive
January 13th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Gosh, I had no idea that this was available and as a retired person, I am glad it has come online early !
I cannot wait to see the actual entry and hope we can get a subscription soon. I am pleased that the money is going to our own country, as it is our records.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Your website is superb. Very fast and well designed. The explanations of what’s what on the site are beautifully written. Thankyou.
Ancestry is riddled with transcription errors which makes it hard work! When you consider all the work which has been done to set up this facility people are getting a bargain. As for cost if you want quality you have to pay more just as a cake with all butter compared to all margarine!
January 13th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I’ve had no problems getting on. I’ve found loads of info already, solved some family history problems that have had me intrigued for a while and have been impressed with the speed at which the search facility is working.
I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of Yorkshire on here now
Well done!
January 13th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Thank you for the advanced release of the 1911 census. What a nice surprise to wake up this morning to hear it was going live today! Tried to log in at 9 a.m. without success but then later on today there was no problem at all. Thank uou.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I had a quick look late this eveniing just to see what the layout will look like only to find I could search.Every thing really quick and no problems at all. Fantastic!! I have after years of searching now been able to find the final threads for my mothers family. My mother was orphaned when she was 2, her mother and father died. She was told a few things, but not very much, so grew old always wishing you knew more about her background. The family originated from Denmark and came to England in 1860’s, it has been a hard slog tracing them as their have been mistranscriptions, and name changes. and a few fibs. In this census I have found her mum and her dad - shame she is no longer alive, she would be delighted, and very emotional. Thankyou very much to all those who have been transcribing for this project. Best wishes to those searching… forwards and backwards - if you get my drift.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
When I eventually managed to get into the Site, I was extremely disappointed at the atrocious number of spelling errors, typographical errors, punctuation errors and incorrect ’spacing’ errors, making it very distracting when one is attempting to read the Instructions for using the Site. Why wasn’t it possible to use a spelling checker (human if necessary)?
January 14th, 2009 at 12:32 am
I also had the encoding problems but have fixed them now.
The fix is for firefox
1) In the address bar type “about:config” (but without the inverted commas)
2) Tell it that you will be careful, Promise!!
3) In the filter type encoding
4) There should be one option reading “network.http.accept-encoding”
5) Click in the value column and type “true” (again without the inverted commas)
6) This should fix it and you can search to your hearts content.
Good luck
Matt
January 14th, 2009 at 8:09 am
ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL!!!!! Talk about North-South divide!! No northern counties available at launch!!!
Suppose we’re all to busy walking our whippets or working 16hr shifts down the pits to want to trace our northern ancestors!!
Come on pull your fingers out and get them uploaded!!
January 14th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Unable to access site because of ‘technical problems’ All day yesterday’zilch’ Today ‘zilch’
Can someone look at this problem before posting ‘fictional’ statements.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Managed to get on last night even though it said it was starting today. Only did one search found what I wanted, paid for credits, downloaded image just to be told I couldn’t wiew it because of an error 37! You still took my money though!! Had this problem with the beta testing. You could view transcripts but not view originals. I don’t mind the fee I paid I DO MIND not getting what I have paid for! Please rectify this problem as soon as possible or return my 30 credits. I am leaving this at 8.48am way before all the other comments on this blog?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Forgot to add that I too can not access the web site today due to “Technical problems on the site”! Perhaps you should have released the Counties 2-3 at a time!?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:57 am
You have taken nearly £1.000000 in a day. Quite a profitable business. Lets hope you improve on your delivery.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Whilst it is great the site has been launched early, obviously feedback from the beta phase in December has NOT been taken on board.
For example - if your search for a name brings 2 or more entries in the same area, the ONLY way you can determine which is yours is to either shell out 10 credits for a transcription - and hope you pick the corect one straight away, or shell out 30 credits and again cross your fingers.
Your search MUST have someway to narrow down correct entries - either an address or the names of others residing at the address. Without this the only conclusion I can come to is that the site is about making money and NOT making information readily available.
Your feedback is less than desirable - you have absolutely NO way of knowing what you are referring to when you ‘resolve an issue’ - is this going to be fixed (as you don;t bother answering this question in relation to individual issues anyway).
I would hope that the National Archives take all of this on board before any future contracts are given out for census digitisation (and maybe everyone should start letting NA know just how badly this is being done in the first place!)
January 14th, 2009 at 11:00 am
very expensive - but worth it - found the missing pieces to the puzzle - I’ve been doing my family research for over 20 years - it started because I was looking for ancestors with disabilities - sadly on the 1911 census that part is block out - can anyone tell me why - cheers
January 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I havent had any problems, either logging on, nor downloading information, but oh how I wish the people concerned realised that in a recession the cost of downloads is prohibitive!.
Also, by not seeing the transcription before taking credits, you are deliberately increasing the cost for people with common names, who have to pay to see them.
Far fairer would be that any credits you use looking at transcriptions, would go towards downloading the original images, in other words encouraging people to take the risk of looking at more transcriptions, where there are several possibilities for you relative.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Great site, works really well but VERY expensive. Which bank or failing industry are we all going to be propping up? The Irish 1911 census is of a similar quality - but FREE to all.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Dear me ladies and gentlemen, calm down before you do yourself a mischief. Yes it’s expensive, yes it’s not fully-functional yet, nor is it complete, but they’ve explained their reasons and to be honest, I was expecting to have to wait another two years for this, so I can wait a few more months for the extra search features to be enabled and the northern counties to come on-stream. The price will come down in time too. Compared to the mess that was the 1901 release, the site is super-fast and worked for me first thing yesterday morning, lunchtime and evening with no problems. However, the cost and the limited search (which increases the cost as you have to look at transcripts to rule people out) means that this is currently a site for the general public with a casual interest – serious amateur sleuths should bide their time…
January 14th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
StephenR:– Have you tried using the search feature “OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD” that is available even although you seem to think it is not. Additionally if you want to narrow your search down by street then do a place search and cross reference the results. Additional search features have been restricted so that the site remained usable for high volumes. Stop your complaining and be patient. You’ll probably find out you were related to Victor Meldrew once you do manage to find who you’re looking for.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
The site is too expensive for me. From ca£3.50 to £2.50 per census page, ca£1.20 to 80p per transcription is just too high. I also notice that the address is missing from the original census page, and the number of children born/surviving is missing from the transcription. So both are needed for the complete picture!!
It was disappointing, though not unexpected, that some counties have not been processed. My interests are in Pembrokeshire, North Riding of Yorkshire and Northumberland!! Unlucky!!! This was not mentioned in the news items on Tuesday!!
I’ll just have to be patient.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I must say from my experience with the site so far I have to disagree with a lot of the comments above. I spent a very enjoyable few hours on the site last night and had little difficulty in tracking down my ancestors by using the “Born Where”, “Other name in household” and “Birth Date” fields. Sometimes a little lateral thinking is required. I can’t wait for Wales to come online as half of my family is from there, but the quality of the material that is currently available is excellent. I remember only too well the debacle of the 1901 census release and to have the 1911 available so early, with so few hiccups is fantastic. Yes we have to pay, this is after all a commercial venture, but compared with say, £7.50 for a birth certificate that takes a months to arrive in the post, I’m happy with the value for money I’m getting.
January 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Accessed the site yesterday from Netherlands and no problems with response times / access. The same is true today.
A bit on the pricey side to access data. It was only later that I found that the area I am most interested in (East Yorks and Northumberland are not yet available. Maybe available before the expriry of my credit in 89 days?
January 14th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I too had very few problems accessing the site - it works well and quickly. It is pricey, but . . . it’s two years early, and it’s likely to be the last census I see so I’m looking forward to enjoying it over the next few years. I remember 1901 - online for three (or was it four?) hours and then off line for the best part of nine months, and that didn’t work properly for yonks, and the transcriptions were s**** as well. This is the biggest single digitisation exercise undertaken in this country which will result in millions of names and family details being available at the touch of a button. How far we’ve come in the past 20 years. I can remember having to take a three hour train journey in order to search through badly presented microfilmed documents in record offices, with no indexes apart from some basic geographical information. The current effort is a massive achievement.
January 14th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I’ve tried to get on to it several times both yesterday and today with no success - so where is all this alleged extra capacity?
January 14th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
HI Margaret M:- Make sure you go to http://www.1911census.co.uk and not anything you have bookmarked before. I made that mistake and got the error page a few times.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Jimbo - yes I HAVE tried using that feature but still doesn’t help as many names were very common in that period. In addition, the other person/people you may expect to find in the household aren’t always present, but others you don’t expect to be there may be (visiting family or other relatives was common).
As to doing a place search - when a family continually moves around unless you knwo the address, this isn’t possible.
This has nothing to do with ’search features’ it has to do with the informaiton displayed providing sufficient information to enable you to identify the person/family you want without having to pay through the nose for wrong results.
Victor Meldrew? Never heard of him - but I guess some people have to resort to personal attacks??
January 14th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Easy to pay
Impossible to view
I paid for credits with no problems at all. Only viewed one transcription before getting the Too Busy Notice
January 15th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I am unable to do view anything from the 1911 census at all as it keeps telling me I need to enable my cookies. I have spent the best part of the last half day going over and over this problem to no avail. Same message from FindMyPast - ‘you need to enable your cookies’ - infinitum - well FMP I have - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzippo nothing.
I am most bitterly disappointed. The biggest thumbs down from me. What good is any of it if it cannot be viewed. Just an exercise in extreme frustration for me.
January 15th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
I have found a transcription error in my ancestors name. I have not bought any credits but found this on the very first search and realised that the name was spelt incorrectly. I notified customer support although I realised that it specifically requested not to notify them of transcription errors and did apologise accordingly, but I do not see why I have to buy credits just to inform someone of an error. I did explain all this in my email and tonight I had a reply. Incident ****** has been resolved! The request was to “resubmit an error report form which can be found on the page of the image you are viewing.
I very carefully explained in my initial email that I was not viewing an image only the initial free entry. I have replied asking that it be corrected for me. In my first email I gave the name, place and date of birth of my relative, the volume and page number. I know it is correct. I have his birth certificate. As anyone else found a transcription error initially by making the first tentative search like myself, if so how have you resolved it without buying credits.
Help. I am pulling my hair out.
Gill
January 17th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Re comment by Gill Badsey.
A transcription should accurately transcribe the information given on the original document. It is completely irrelevant whether or not that information is accurate. Unless the transcription is complete nonsense, e.g. “bisoney under detertion” for “prisoner under detention” (as found on another website), it is not possible, without seeing the original, to say that the transcription is inaccurate. Anyone who believes that information on census forms is always accurate and/or consistent from one census to the next needs more experience.
January 17th, 2009 at 3:59 am
I too cannot get anywhere because of the cookies problem! Does anyone know how to get around this? Following instructions on the page does not work.
January 17th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I have spent several days trying to overcome the cookies issue but to no avail. The frustrating thing is that it happened all of a sudden. When first on the site all was fine. Now I simply cannot use it at all.
January 17th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I cannot sign on or view records due to the cookie problem, I have disabled everything on my pc and still no joy. I logged the problem on the 14th but no reply!!!
Very disappointed I cannot view anything.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I was so excited to know the 1911 site was now on as I’ve had a lot of trouble trying to find my relatives with a very common name. I paid the annual fee to gain access, but I’ve had no success at all. My family all came from the Bethnal Green area of London and I really think I should have found someone!
Very disappointed at present as the fee isn’t exactly cheap and I am already a member of Ancestry.co.
Pearl
January 28th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
have tried to access the 1911 site, no joy keep getting enable cookies, have tried without success to enable cookies, have found it very frustrating having waited so long for this census to become available.
February 8th, 2009 at 3:33 am
I too have been having trouble with cookies, even uninstalled IE7 to revert to IE6, still no joy, have been in contact with Management who suggest that I may need to change my browser - no way have been using IE for years without a problem. They did admit to having a problem with cookies with IE7, but it seems to be with IE6 too. Any advice please.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I wish to check on Reginald John Sainsbury, born1781 in Devizes, Wiltshire and believed to be living in London or Beaconsfield.bucks - Is this possible
February 20th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
@Anonymous: given that he would be 130 at the time of the census, I’d suspect he’s unlikely to appear. However, the good news is that you can use any unused credits to search for him on findmypast.com (just sign in with your 1911census sign in details) - given his age, I would start with the 1841. Good luck in your hunt.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:11 am
I can’t get past the cookies either… I guess I will have to download firefox?
July 28th, 2010 at 1:33 am
How do I overcome this wretched Cookies problem. Tried all the suggestions for enabling Cookies but to no avail. Previously I never had any problems when accessing 1911census.co.uk. Would be most grateful for any help.
Regards Ian Vince (Adelaide, South Australia).
October 1st, 2010 at 12:21 am
Your internet site provides a great deal of special insights and information. I haven’t definitely thought about it like that.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Same problem with cookies - tried everything they said, did a reboot - been here for three hours trying to figure it out - worked OK for me before. Help!
December 22nd, 2010 at 9:38 pm
This cookie issue just drags on.
It shows an astonishing lack of technical competence in their IT support if they suggest that you change from Internet Explorer - thed worlds leading browser!.
I do speak from a standpoint of knowledge. I am an IT Professional of 20 years standing (Fellow of BCS)
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