Census returns

The first official census of the population of England and Wales was taken on 10^th March 1801. Censuses have been taken every ten years since then, but the earliest censuses record statistics only.    From 1841 onwards, details about individuals are recorded. Censuses are closed to public inspection for one hundred years from the date they were taken. This means that the 1901 census has been the latest to become available, on 2^nd  January 2002.   

Nineteenth century censuses (1841-1891) for the whole of England and Wales can be seen at the Family Records Centre in London.  Those for particular counties and regions can be seen at the relevant local libraries, or in some cases at record offices or family history society centres. They are available on microfilm or microfiche and occasionally on CD-Rom. The 1901 census for the whole of England and Wales is the first census to be made available in scanned format on the Internet.  It is available, with an index, on the Internet at the Family Records Centre in London.  It is now also available on microfiche at the same place.

Overseas researchers as well as those within the United Kingdom can order films or microfiche of nineteenth century censuses (1841-1901) for any place in England and Wales, for a fee, through their nearest Mormon Family History Centre.

Census returns are organised by county, and within each county by enumeration districts which were based on the sub-districts used by the registrars of births, marriages and deaths. An enumeration district may cover a whole village, or, in more populous areas, just a few streets. This means that, unless your ancestors lived in a small village, it can be time-consuming to find them in a census return if you do not have an address.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) have compiled a surname index to the 1881 census, and a surname index to the 1851 census for Devon, Norfolk and Warwickshire.   The 1841 census is not indexed at all for most counties.  However, many family history societies have compiled surname indexes to the 1851 census for their own area, and these are usually in booklet form or on microfiche.  In some cases, they have also compiled surname indexes to censuses held in other years as well.  Copies of most of these indexes can be purchased directly from the family history society which has produced them.

Information on censuses and indexes held in Devon libraries

Dates

Each census records those in each household on census night. The head of the household filled in a return which was collected by the enumerator on the Monday after census night. If the householder could not write, the enumerator completed the form for him. Censuses were taken on the night of Sunday/Monday as follows:

6^th June 1841
30^th March 1851
7^th April 1861
2^nd April 1871
3^rd April 1881
5^th April 1891
31^st March 1901

Information from the census

The 1841 census records names, the occupation of the head of the household, approximate ages, and whether each person was born in the county, Y(es) or N(o). In 1841, ages were recorded in months for babies up to one year old, and in years for children up to fifteen. After fifteen, ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 or 0, e.g. thirty four is recorded as 30, and twenty nine as 25. From 1851 onwards, the census enumerators asked for accurate ages, and also recorded additional information - relationship to the head of the household, marital status, and place of birth, where known.