FOCUS ON: 1841 CENSUS
The first modern census set the format for future censuses, Paul Blake explains
Paul Blake shows how to get the most out of the first modern census
Around 35,000 census enumerators were appointed to undertake the data collection, one for each district
Often described as the first modern census, the 1841 census of the United Kingdom was the first of the Victorian censuses and the first to attempt to record details of every member of every household throughout the land.
The Population Act of 1840 had given the Registrar General, in addition to his responsibility for civil registration, the responsibility for the census for England and Wales. Earlier censuses had been administered by the overseers of the poor but the civil registration system, introduced three years earlier, provided the local administration which could take on the task of running the census. The original 1840 act was modified by the 1841 Census (Amendment) Act. The census was controlled centrally, rather than being devolved to a local level as the earlier censuses had been. It was hoped that omissions and double-counting were more likely to be avoided because it was taken on the night of Sunday 6 June across the country.
Existing civil registration districts and sub-districts were subdivided into enumeration districts, which were intended to be of a size which would allow one person to collect the data from all households in a single day. Around 35,000 census enumerators were appointed to undertake the data collection, one for each district. Forms were delivered to every household a few days before the day of the census. These were to be completed by the householder and collected by the enumerator on 7 June, the day after the census. The enumerator would help to complete the form if, for example, the householder was illiterate.
In Scotland, enumeration duties were carried out by the schoolmaster in each parish and the sheriff deputies for counties and stewartries, and provosts for burghs. In Ireland, a corps
of enumerators was selected from the constabulary.
The 1841 census became the model for all subsequent UK censuses, although each refined and expanded the questions asked. The 1841 census is limited compared with later censuses.
In addition to information on whether houses were inhabited, uninhabited or being built, the 1841 census recorded people’s names plus their age, sex, occupation and place of birth. Except in Ireland, no relationship to the head of the household and or marital status was recorded. However, the instructions for the completion of each column were restricted in a number of ways.
Once the householders’ schedules had been collected, the enumerators copied the returns into an enumeration book. Errors crept in as they tried to decipher the writing on the forms, which were later destroyed. The end of each building is shown with two slashes (//) and the end of each household in a building marked with one slash (/).
Surviving records
Most Irish returns for 1841 were destroyed in 1922 in the fire at the Public Record Office at the start of the Civil War. However, there are nearly 16,000 names in the surviving records. These are very detailed compared with the rest of the UK, giving exact ages, place of birth, relationships, marital status, literacy and marriage dates. A separate schedule listed those who had died since 1831 or who were away. The results of successful searches in both the 1841 and 1851 returns, used as proof of age in Ireland under the Old Age Pensions Act 1908, can provide the names and ages of everyone in the claimant’s household.
In 1910, the Registrar General for Scotland found the 1841 and 1851 enumeration books in a storage area in Whitehall and moved them to New Register House in Edinburgh. Several original volumes have not survived, mainly for parishes in Fife. It’s said that these were lost when being transferred across the River Forth, but there’s no evidence of this. Findmypast has details of all the missing pieces ( bit.ly/missingcensus).
As with the later censuses, there are numerous websites offering 1841 census data for England, Wales and the Islands: Findmypast ( findmypast. co.uk), Ancestry ( ancestry. co.uk), TheGenealogist ( thegenealogist.co.uk) and MyHeritage ( myheritage .com); also UK Census Online ( ukcensusonline.com) and Genes Reunited ( genes reunited.com).
It’s free to search indexes on FamilySearch ( familysearch. org) which uses data from the commercial site Findmypast. FreeCen ( www.freecen.org. uk) includes a few selected transcripts for England and Scotland. Transcripts of Channel Islands entries are at www. members.shaw.ca/jersey maid/index.html.
To access 1841 census images for Scotland you must use the pay-as-you-go ScotlandsPeople website ( scotlandspeople.gov. uk), but there are full transcripts on Ancestry and Findmypast, and extracts on MyHeritage.
In Ireland, the surviving fragments are free to search via the National Archives of Ireland website ( nationalarchives.ie).