The UK Census Pre and Post 1841

1801 Information was collected on a parish basis and there were no details on households. Forms for recording the information were distributed to each parish where the overseers of the poor, 'substantial landholders' and local clergy all had a responsibility to collect specific types of data. Once the statistics had been collected, they were sworn before the local Justice of the Peace and eventually sent to the Home Office. The results were then collated and laid before Parliament.

1801 They were to provide information on:  the number of inhabited and uninhabited houses in the parish  how many families occupied them  the number of people in the parish  their employment  numbers of baptisms, burials and marriages. Date: 10 March 1801 Population: 8.9 million William Pitt. The younger, PM 1801

1811 In 1811, the enumerators were asked to give more information about the reasons houses were unoccupied, so that the prosperity of the district could be more accurately gauged. Date: 27 May 1811 Population: 12.6 million Spencer Perceval, PM in 1811

1821 In 1821 a question relating to age was asked, in order to assess numbers of men able to bear arms, and to improve the tables on which life assurance was based. Date: 28 May 1821 Population: 14.4 million Robert Jenkinson, 2 nd Earl of Liverpool, PM in 1821

1831 More detailed questions on occupations from 1831 provided the government with economic information. Some enumerators did record names. A very few examples survive. Date: 30 May 1831 Population: million Earl Charles Grey, PM in 1831

1841 The first UK census of use to family historians. Ages and places of birth not accurate. Ages were rounded down to the nearest five years for over 15s. Places were not recorded only whether born in this county or not. Written in pencil many images are faded. Date: 7 June 1841 Population: 15.9 million Sir Robert Peel, PM in 1841

1851 This was the first to record the full details of birth location for individuals and states the county and parish or town of birth as well. This was to give the rate and intensity of migration from rural to urban areas. The results confirmed there had been a significant shift from the countryside to the towns. The 1851 census was the first to record each person's marital status and relationship to the head of the household.

1851 It also recorded details of disability - "blind, deaf or imbecile". Each individual's exact age was also recorded (to the nearest year) rather than rounding adult ages down to the nearest five years. Much greater detail was asked about people's occupations than in previous censuses. This enabled government analysis of occupations into "classes" and "sub-classes".

1851 The Government also conducted a census of attendance at religious services on 30 March 1851, as part of the project. Date: 30 March 1831 Population: 17.9 million The Great Exhibition 1851

1861 Now included relationship to the head of family, marital status, details of place of birth, and whether the person was blind, deaf, dumb. Date: 7 April 1861 Population: 20.1 million

1871 Disabilities such as whether the individual was imbecile, idiot or lunatic were added. Date: 2 April 1871Population: 21.3 million

1881 Date: 3 April 1881Population: 25.9 million

1891 It asked people whether they were employers, employees or neither. Date: 5 April 1891Population: 29 million

1901 Included the number of rooms in the dwelling. Date: 31 March 1901Population: 32.5 million

1911 The most recent we have access to and we can see the actual household schedule in the head of household’s hand. Date: 2 April 1911 Population: 36 million Herbert H Asquith, PM in 1911

1921 This will not be made available to the public until Jan It had been originally planned that the census would be taken on the night of 24th April 1921 but this was delayed because of strikes. Extra questions asked included whether a marriage has been dissolved by divorce where each person works the industry within which someone works Date: 19 June 1921 Population: 37.9 million

1931 Destroyed by fire in Date: 26 April 1931Population: 40 million 1941 WAS NEVER TAKEN DUE TO WORLD WAR TWO.

Census Jargon Buster Ditto, do, “ = the same as above. Abbreviated names = First and middle names may be shortened to ‘WM’ for William, ‘Chas’ for Charles, ‘Jas’ for James, Elizth’ for Elizabeth. Occupational abbreviations = ‘Ag Lab’ for agricultural labourer, ‘FS’ for female servant. ‘dom serv’ for domestic servant.

Census Jargon Buster Slash marks = double slash (//) indicate the end of one property. A single slash is a separate household within the same property. Crossings out = usually marks made when the information was being collated and does NOT mean anything was wrong.

Census search tips: 1. Enter as little information as necessary so you do not remove alternatives. Spelling or order of names may vary so be ready to try several. 2. Use variations and wildcards – Wildcards use an asterix to replace letters. For example Ann* will search for Ann, Anne, Annie; S*mpson will find Simpsonj and Sampson. Using ‘Soundex’ allows for spellings of a word that sound the same – Taylor might also offer Naylor, Gaylor and Tayler.

Census search tips: 3. Look for someone else in the family if the one you seek is not showing. This might at least bring up the household you are seeking even if your name is not present. 4. Find the censuses on each side, before and after to ensure you have as much clarity as possible. Check on local directories to find when the family might have moved house. 5. Try other websites to see if they pick up your ancestor better.