1901 census returns
Microfiches. On 2 January 2002 the census enumerators' returns of the 1901 census were released. Devon Library Services has purchased a set of microfiches for the entire historic county of Devon, as for previous censuses and a duplicate set for areas outside Plymouth and Torbay. Coverage for Devon is as follows:

Westcountry Studies Library: RG 13/2015-2172, 2180-81, 2272 - all Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay)
Exmouth Library: RG 13/2015-2047 - Axminster, Honiton, St Thomas, Exeter registration districts
Newton Abbot Library: RG 13/2048-2062 - Newton Abbot registration district
Totnes Library: RG 13/2063-2076 - Totnes registration district
Kingsbridge Library: RG 13/2077-2090 - Kingsbridge registration district
Tavistock Library: RG 13/2115-2120 - Tavistock registration district
Okehampton Library: RG/2121-2126 - Okehampton registration district
Tiverton Library: RG13/2127-2138 - Crediton, Tiverton registration districts
Barnstaple Library: RG 13/2139-2172 - South Molton, Barnstaple, Bideford, Torrington, Holsworthy registration districts

The two unitary library authorities have acquired the following:
Plymouth Library: RG 13/2084-2114 - Plympton St. Mary, Plymouth, East Stonehouse, Devonport registration districts
Torbay Library: RG 13/2055-2083 - Newton Abbot, Totnes, Kingsbridge registration districts

Alphabetical listings of Devon's holdings from 1841 to 1901 are available with National Archives (Public Record Office) references and Devon's own location references.

User guides are available in larger libraries and 15 CD-ROM guides have been provided. Most of the information on the CD-ROM is also available on the website. The Devon microfiches have been indexed and are available for use in the Westcountry Studies Library and other libraries as listed above. Intending users are advised to contact Westcountry Studies Library or other holding libraries to reserve a microfiche reader.

On-line. This is the first census to be completely available on-line. There is access to the indexes for the whole country at National Archives census 1901 website in libraries in Devon. Searching the index is free. To view the image of the census return will cost 75p. To view a transcript of the details from the return for an individual will cost 50p. For an extra 50p you can look at the transcripts for the rest of the household. The National Archives expect most users will use their credit card to pay for viewing images or transcripts. If you do not wish to use a credit card you will be able to buy vouchers to use the service. The vouchers are available in units of £5.00 and can then be used at home or at any institution providing the online service. Once first used, a voucher will expire after six months. Devon Libraries have £5.00 vouchers which on sale in Exeter and at other libraries in Devon which hold microfiches of the census. Smaller libraries can order them from Exeter Central Library but it is quicker for UK residents to apply by post to: Westcountry Studies Library, Exeter Central Library, Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PQ enclosing a remittance for £5.00 payable to Devon County Council (not Westcountry Studies Library) together with a stamped adressed envelope. Please mark your envelope "Census voucher". Instructions on how to use the vouchers will be forwarded with the voucher. The Library will not be held responsible for any vouchers which may be lost in the post. It is also possible to purchase individual vouchers direct from The National Archives, see their page for individual voucher purchase.

1. Introduction
Census enumerators' returns are the only publicly available source to provide details of every individual in a community. A census of population has been held every ten years since 1801, except for the war year of 1941. In addition a ten per cent sample census was held in 1966. The results have been published as statistical tables by the Stationery Office and are available in most large reference libraries. From 1801 to 1831 the censuses were locally adminstered by parish overseers or clergy and any records of local population enumeration survive rarely and are scattered in local record offices. After the establishment of the General Register Office local registrars appointed enumerators to deliver forms to each household in the enumeration district allocated to them and to collect them after census night. These forms were then tabulated by the enumerator in books which formed the enumerators' returns. These provided the raw material for the totalling and statistical analysis which eventually resulted in the published census volumes. The enumerators' books, which contained detailed information on individuals, were restricted for one hundred years before being released to general public consultation and microfilm copies have been produced by the National Archives (Public Record Office) for general sale. Those for 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 have so far been released and have been purchased by libraries in Devon.

2. Contents
The forms used to transcribe the information vary from one census to another. The 1841 census returns contain less information than the later ones, and, as they were written on blue paper, the microfilms are usually difficult to decipher.

Schedule (original form) number. From 1851.
Place (street name, house name or number).
Houses. 1841, 1861 onwards distinguish uninhabited houses.
Names. Surname and forename of those resident on census night.
Relation to head of family (wife, son, lodger etc). From 1851.
Marital condition (married, unmarried, widowed). From 1851.
Age and sex. Ages over 15 rounded down to nearest five years in 1841.
Occupation (rank,profession, employment).
Where born. County or country if outside England and Wales 1841, parish and county from 1851.
Whether blind, deaf or dumb. From 1851.
Whether imbecile or idiot. From 1871.
Employment status. From 1891. Number of rooms. From 1891. Institutions such as prisons, workhouses, boarding schools, hospitals and also ships have special forms.

3. Arrangement
In 1841 the books are arranged by hundred and then by parish within each hundred. From 1851 the arrangement is by registration district, then subdistrict and then town or parish, subdivided by enumeration district. Within each enumeration district the arrangement reflects the frequently circuitous route the enumerator travelled, winding along one side of a street, into alleys, crossing the road, diverting to take in individual properties.

4. Referencing
The system of reference adopted by The National Archives (Public Record Office) is as follows:

a. The class (to 1851 Home Office records, from 1861 Registrar General's records).1841: HO 107, 1851: HO 107 (continues 1841 numbering), 1861: RG 9, 1871: RG 10, 1881: RG 11, 1891: RG 12, 1901: RG 13

b. The piece (book, box or bundle of documents)
This is a running number quoted after the class and an oblique stroke. E.g. RG 12/1777 (the 1891 returns for parishes in the Ilfracombe subdistrict)
In 1841 the piece is a box containing books with separate foliation. E.g. HO 107/262/9 covers Chagford for 1841

c. The folio
In 1841 the folio number was printed on the top right of each page. Each book has a separate sequence of numbers. E.g. HO 107/203/13 fo.1-13 lists the inmates of Barnstaple gaol in 1841
From 1851 the folio number was stamped on the top right of each folio. Numbering runs in one sequence through all the books in each piece. E.g. RG 9/1423/99 is the first folio of the 1861 Charleton returns.

d. The page
From 1851 each book has its own pagination printed and this can be used in addition to the reference to the front (recto) or back (verso) of the folio to provide a more precise reference. E.g. RG 9/1519 fo.10 p.20
Local libraries in Devon have usually provided their own system of reference to the reels or fiches in their individual collections. Typically this provides a sequential number for each reel or fiche. Finding aids usually list places alphabetically, with reference to the reel or fiche number, frequently also giving The National Archives (Public Record Office) number.

5. Holdings of microforms of the original returns (see also section 6: indexes for 1851 and 1881 transcripts/indexes)

Westcountry Studies Library
1841-1891 All Devon and some border parishes in adjoining counties

Plymouth Local Studies Library
1841-1891 Plymouth registration district
1891 Tavistock and Okehampton registration districts

Torquay Local Studies Library
1841-1891 Torbay district
1891 Newton Abbot, Totnes, Kingsbridge registration districts

North Devon Local Studies Centre (Barnstaple)
1841-1891 Barnstaple, Bideford, South Molton, Torrington & Holsworthy registration districts

Exmouth Reference Library
1861 Exmouth only
1891 Axminster, Honiton and St. Thomas (part) registration districts

As census enumerators' returns are held in microform it is wisest to contact local studies collections in advance to reserve a microform viewer. Most collections have facilites for reserving periods on viewers by post or telephone but staff cannot search film on behalf of enquirers.

6. Indexes
No indexes were compiled at the time the census was taken. The National Archives have produced listings, which usually follow the arrangement of the parishes in the printed statistical tables, grouped into enumeration districts and not alphabetically by place within county. Local studies collections in Devon have normally produced alphabetical indexes to the parishes in their collections. The National Archives have also provided street indexes to some of the larger towns. Some libraries have also produced street indexes to their local towns. For example the Westcountry Studies Library holds the following street indexes:
Exeter: 1851, 1891 (on cards)
Exmouth: 1841-1881
Plymouth: 1841, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 (not all areas)
Totnes: 1891
Torquay holds a street index for Torbay 1841-1881

1841 census: North Devon surname index, compiled by Marjorie Snetzler.
Holdings: Barnstaple

1851 census: the Mormons have produced a database which is available on microfiche in schedule order with county indexes by surname and forenames, surname and birthplace and surname and census place. Holdings: Westcountry Studies, Barnstaple, Exmouth. It is also available on CD-ROM together with Norfolk and Warwickshire. Holdings: Westcountry Studies, Barnstaple, Exmouth, Newton Abbot, Tavistock. These replace the surname indexes for Devon which have been produced in a series of booklets covering individual enumeration districts for 1851 and published by the Devon Family History Society. These are still available in the main local studies collections and from the Society.

1861 census: North Devon surname index, compiled by Marjorie Snetzler. Available on microfiche
Holdings: Barnstaple, Westcountry Studies Library.
The 1861 census for Devon is now being transcribed in a joint project by the Devon Family History Society and FreeCEN, in much the same way as the 1891 census.

1871 census: North Devon surname index, compiled by Marjorie Snetzler.
Holdings: Barnstaple

1881 census: the Mormons have produced a database which is available on microfiche in schedule order with county indexes by surname and forenames, surname and birthplace and surname and census place. This index covers the whole country. Holdings:
Westcountry Studies: Devon Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset
Barnstaple: Devon Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset. Also: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridge, Cumberland, Durham, Essex, Gloucester, Guernsey, Hereford, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdon, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northampton, Oxford, Rutland, Shropshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Westmorland, Wiltshire, Anglesey, Brecon, Cardigan, Caernarvon, Carmathen, Denbigh, Flint, Glamorgan, Merioneth, Montgomery, Monmouthshire, Pembroke, Radnorshire.
Exmouth: Devon
The database is can be searched onthe Familysearch website and is also available on CD-ROM for the whole of the country. Holdings:
Barnstaple (North Devon Athenaeum): whole country.
Sets are being acquired for the public library service but there are hardware problems to be resolved in making it generally accessible.

1891 census: North Devon surname index, compiled by Marjorie Snetzler.
Holdings: Barnstaple, Westcountry Studies Library.
Much 1891 census data for Devon has now been uploaded to the FreeCen database and will soon be available for searching at http://freecen.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl. This 1891 project is very close to completion but there are still some pieces not yet in the database.

7. Use for education and research
As these are the fullest available listings of inhabitants of each community in the past, there is a wide range of uses to which the records can be put. For the genealogist they provide evidence of family relationships, ages and place of birth which can give clues for the appropriate parish registers or civil registration records to search for baptisms or births. For the demographic historian they give evidence of age structure, family size and migration. For the house historian they give detailed evidence of occupancy. For the social and economic historian they give evidence of occupation and education. Schools have put the returns for their community on databases to facilitate analysis by occupation, place of birth or family names. They can answer such questions as: How many children worked for a living? How many households had servants? Use of the returns can be combined with fieldwork to identify buildings listed. Besides history, the returns can cover geography, maths and information technology in the national curriculum.

8. Further reading
Boreham, J.M. The census and how to use it (1982)
Chapman, C.R. Pre-1841 census and population listings in the British Isles (2nd ed, 1991)
Gibson, J.S.W. Census returns on microfilm: a directory to local holdings (5th ed, 1990)
Gibson, J.S.W. Census indexes and indexing (2nd ed, 1983)
Higgs, E. Making sense of the census: the manuscript returns for England and Wales, 1801-1901 (1989)
Lumas, S. Making use of the census (New ed. 2002). Public Record Office readers guide; 1.
McLaughlin, E. The censuses 1841-1881 (1986)
Mozley, H.. People count: teacher notes on using the Victorian census (1991)
Nissel, M. People count: a history of the General Register Office (1987)
Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys. Guide to census reports: Great Britain 1801-1966 (1977)