Does anybody know what P.K.N. means on a census. It is used in the context of a scholars birthplace at a paupers school. I assume it means 'not known' or something but I'd like to be sure.

__________________
Pone ubi sol non lucet!

I tried to google it and came up with some very strange things that really wouldn't apply to a census !

Perhaps it refers to an orphan... Parents not known...

Good one Sir C .. but it's PKN not PNK. The closest thing I could find that might be in a census was related to parking and whether or not it had a garage but that isn't going to have much to to with a scholars birthplace!!

I haven't a clue Sooty ..... in what context is it written?

I guess the 'N' could be Nationality

Can you elaborate please? Where, on the census return is it written, ie. in which column and what is the column heading?

It's a 12 year old girl in a pauper/workhouse school with no other members of her family with her. Her father was killed in a mining accident 9 years previous. It has her full name, correct age and gives her current address as the the school. Under the 'where born' it just has the capital letters P.K.N. She is only about eight miles away from where she was living 10 years previously and has two late teenage sisters living with families in the area and a brother working in the same mine as his late father, albeit he has been adopted by another family. I'm assuming P.K.N means something like 'not known' but it's bugging me now.

__________________
Pone ubi sol non lucet!

I'll ask on my genealogy forum for you.

They seem to think it's place not known

Apparently if you search with the place of birth pnk it does come up with entries

In the absence of viewing the offending page of the census entry, I'd agree with Marnie and her forum, i.e...Place not known.. I must admit though that I've never seen this before on a census entry.