National Archives Of Canada Census Data
Canadian Census have been around for a long time, but prior to 1851, they normally listed
just the heads of the household, but starting in 1851 it was the first Census to list by name
every individual in the household.
Most nineteenth century census records, in their original form, are located in the Federal Archives Division with Records of Statistics Canada. These census records have been
micro-filmed by Public Archives of Canada and are available on inter-library loan.
The Information On The Census Were As Of The Following Dates.
12 January 1852 (For the 1851 Census)
14 January 1861
2 April 1871 (Age Next Birthday)
4 April 1881 (Age Last Birthday)
6 April 1891 (Age Last Birthday
31 March 1901 (Age Last Birthday)
Note: Some say 1861 was taken on 14 August 1861.
Carleton County, Ontario, Canada
Townships
Lambton County, Ontario, Canada
Permission has been granted by the Lambton Branch OGS to replicate printed copies of
their Census on this site. These were done by Volunteers who transcribed them from
the original records. Printed copies, in booklets, can be purchased from the:
Lambton Branch OGS at P.O. Box 2857, Sarnia, Ont., Canada, N7T 7W1
This is a great group of Volunteers. They are
excellent when it comes to doing research, and will go out of their way to help others find their roots.
Townships
Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
(Showing Townships)
Middlesex
(Showing Townships)
In 1851, McGillivray and Biddulph were not part of Middlesex County.
Middlesex County
(Background Notes)
The illegible handwriting and inconsistency of the enumerators themselves, makes an exact duplicate difficult. Each Township presented distinct problems. The enumerators
of Lobo usually used initials or short forms in lieu of first names. The enumerators of Caradoc failed to indicate whether household consisted of one or two families, thereby
making such division difficult to ascertain. Most enumerators spelled words phonetically, thus they have distorted the orthography and the pronunciation of many names.
The manuscript census for all of the Townships of Middlesex survives, with the exception of four of the five enumeration districts of London Township. Also, most
regrettably, the entire manuscript census for the Town of London appears to no longer exist.
In spite of its inaccuracy and inconsistency, hopefully, the historian, geographer and genealogist's will derive some benefit from the 1851/1852 census of Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.
The 1852 Census
The 1852 census is significant in that it was the first nominal census ordered for the entire Province of Canada, formerly the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. This was based on
the Act of 1851, passed by the Legislative Council, which outlined the procedure for taking periodical censuses in the province. Accordingly, census commissioners in each county
assigned the responsibility of gathering the required information.
The enumerators' instructions were clearly defined. They were to familiarize themselves with their particular district in order to produce a written assessment of "its
boundaries, rivers, roads and general character." They were to name every person dwelling within, or
temporarily absent from their respective district as of the night of SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 1852, denoting the
person's profession, place of birth, religion, place of residence, age, sex and martial status. The
enumerators were also to determine the size and the nature of each household by noting the
members, and non-members of each family, absenteeism, the state of physical and mental
health of each member and the birth and death rates in each household for the year 1851.
A major structural change had occurred in the boundaries of Middlesex County just a few
days prior to Sunday 11 January. On January 1, the western portion of Nissouri Township in
Oxford County was joined to Middlesex County as West Nissouri Township and part of the
northeastern portion of Dorchester Township was detached from Middlesex to form part of
Oxford North Township in Oxford County. The southern portion of Dorchester Township,
together with the townships of Aldgorough, Dunwich, Southwold, Yarmouth, Malihide and
Bayham were also detached from Middlesex County to form the new County of Elgin, and the
remaining portion of Dorchester Township in Middlesex was designated as North Dorchester.
Hence, at the time of the 1852 census, the County of Middlesex consisted of the Townships
of Delaware, Westminster, London, North Dorchester, Lobo, Caradoc, Ekfrid, Mosa, Metcalfe
Adelaide, Williams and West Nissouri, as well as the town of London. It would nt be until
1860
that Williams would be divided into the townships of East and West Williams, nor would
McGillivray and Biddulph Townships be annexed to Middlesex from Huron County until 1863.
In the personal census itself,
enumerators were required to note a person's place of
residence only if it were beyond the limits of that particular enumeration district. Lot
and Concession numbers of property owners were listed in the argicultural census.
If a family member died within the year 1851, the age and cause of death are noted. Usually
the enumerators did not list the names of those who had died in 1851, merely the sex and
cause of death.
Granny's Genealogy Garden No. 1 originally designed by Granny ( Fay Lucille Bertrand nee Lucas ).
May her memory live on through her work.