Why aren't they on the census?

Question:

Why aren't they on the census?

Why are so many of my family missing from the 1901 census? It's a mix of men and women so they can't all be off at a war or something.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Although the government claims a high rate of completions on a Census, the fact is that I, in my mid-60's, was never included in a single census until 1990; I have, therefore, been included in 2 Censuses. My point is, that many people, numerically and percentage-wise, were NOT included in any Census. That may be the case with your folks.
Another case is that the records were kept by hand, no copies made, many were lost or destroyed (as was definitely the case during the Revolutionay and Civil Wars).
Further, many people were born at home; there was no official notice unless they paid property taxes, etc.
Thus, a child could be born at home and die at an early age and never appear in any record what-so-ever. (Two of my aunts died, one at 2, the other at 4...no record of them.)
Going back in time, there was a higher and higher percentage of people NOT counted in the Census.
Hope this helps.
Just because they were NOT in the Census doen't mean they were not in other records, Civil records or Church records. The best would be Family records. Also check military records.