English census records 1841 – 1901

Most of us have looked up our ancestors in the various censuses. Like most things, its not a precise science, some families crop up census after census others never appear under the surname you believe to be theirs, even using various spellings. Sometimes you only find the correct entry after entering one of the children’s names. However, once you have a census page you can often add in pieces of your family history jigsaw you didn’t even know existed.

Although children might have been born and died between one census and the next, you may find children you’ve never heard of before, or children who suddenly have disappeared by the next census. These discoveries open up new avenues of research. Often, in the smallest dwelling, there may be a lodger or a widowed mother living with the family. If there’s a lodger is he or she a relative? The name of the widowed mother can reveal the surname of the wife and again set the enthusiast off in a new direction. The first census to count the complete population which included people’s names was taken in 1841. The 1841 census, as we all now know, was pretty basic, simply listing the family’s address, their names, ages, sexes and occupations. The Birthplace was only recorded if the person was born in the county.

Ages on the 1841 census can appear confusing unless you know that ages up to fifteen are listed exactly but ages over fifteen were rounded down to the nearest five years. If you’re not aware of this fact trying to trace birth certificates can become unnecessarily difficult.

However, by 1851 the census included place of birth, marital status, disabilities and the relationship of each person to the head of the household and by 1891 householders were also asked how many rooms their family occupied, if under five.

Problems could and did arise because the enumerator left a pre-printed census schedule for each family to complete. A proportion of the working class was still illiterate and relied on the enumerator to fill in the census schedule for them, sometimes leading to misspellings and misunderstandings. It all makes the family historian’s task more interesting if more complex!

If you are trying to tie in births and deaths with the various censuses you might find it useful to have the exact date in the year when the census took place so you can narrow down your search and save time. Below are the dates of the various censuses:

UK census dates 1841 to 1901

• 1841 June 7
• 1851 March 30
• 1861 April 7
• 1871 April 2
• 1881 April 3
• 1891 April 5
• 1901 March 31

If you are researching ancestors in this period have a look at our free reported age calculators. If you know the date of birth and need the reported ages on the census use the From date of Birth calculator. If you know the age at one census and need the reported ages at another census or the possible date of birth then use the From Census Entry calculator .