CENSUS
Paul Blake shares his expert advice for getting more from the 1851-1901 census records
Paul Blake covers everything you need to know about these core records
Following the first detailed national census of the population in 1841, the information gathered was extended substantially and the 1851 census set the style for those taken over the next five decades.
Several months before a census was due to be taken, an act was passed by Parliament authorising the Registrar General to organise the census and set the questions. Census dates were fixed for early spring, when it was expected that most people would be at home – after April it was anticipated that men and their families might be away looking for agricultural work. Then as now, every household and institution was required to declare who was resident on a Sunday night: in 1851 it was 30 March followed by 7 April 1861, 2 April 1871, 3 April 1881, 5 April 1891 and 31 March 1901. In those 50 years, the population of the UK grew by nearly 52 per cent, from 27,368,800 to 41,538,200.
The later 1911 census survives in the form of householders’ schedules filled in by the head of the household or institution, but this is not the case for the earlier returns. Shortly before census night, enumerators handed out a questionnaire, known as the ‘schedule’, which the householder – normally the oldest man – was expected to complete. The questions were designed to be as simple as possible, because complicated ones tended to be misunderstood. Schedules were available in Welsh from 1871 and Yiddish and German after 1891. The use of these schedules made no difference to the final returns, which still had to be completed in English. The following morning, the enumerator would collect the schedules. If these were not filled in properly, he was expected to obtain the extra details on the doorstep. If the householder
Every household and institution was required to declare who was resident on a Sunday night
was illiterate, the enumerator would fill in the form for them.
Human error
Once all the forms had been collected, the enumerator entered the details into the enumeration book. Some did not follow their own instructions exactly and added comments or changed the entries as they copied them. These books were then checked by local registrars and then sent to the Census Office in London; together with original schedules which, with a few exceptions, were eventually destroyed.
It is dangerous to assume that census enumerators’ books are always accurate. Errors inevitably crept in when completing the schedules and copying them into enumeration books.
When census-taking started, not everyone knew when or where they were born. A common mistake concerns the ages of individuals which are often a year or two, or more, away from the truth. The 1891 census report commented that both men and women lied about their age: men to appear older and women to appear younger.
The document on p63 shows a standard 1881 census enumeration book entry. This was more-or-less the same data gathered for the whole UK in 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881. In 1861 and 1871, Scotland requested information on the number of children aged five to 15 attending school (to 13 in 1871) or being educated at home and in 1861, 1871 and 1881 the schedule also asked how many rooms there were with one or more windows.
In 1891 and 1901, details of employment were requested. Wales and Scotland introduced a question about language spoken in 1891, and the Isle of Man added this question in 1901.
Most of the Irish census for 1851 was destroyed by fire at the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922: only fragments survive for some counties Antrim; Belfast city (one ward only); Dublin city (index to heads of household only); and Fermanagh. The returns for 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 were destroyed on government orders. Therefore, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are the only complete census records for the pre-independence period.
The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 introduced a noncontributory pension for eligible people aged 70 and over. Proof of age was an essential part of the process. Because civil registration of births did not begin in Ireland until 1864, applicants had no documentation to prove their age. It was decided that searches of the 1841 and 1851 census returns, still in the Public Record Office at that time, could provide documentary evidence of a claimant’s age. Many searches were successful, and these can provide the names and ages of every person living in the claimant’s household at the time of the 1841 or 1851 census.
Census returns for vessels at sea (both Royal Navy and merchant) survive from 1861 only, but for logistical reasons are far from complete. And, lastly, there are a few gaps in the returns where the relevant piece has been lost or destroyed.