Using Ancestry.com: Canadian Census Returns at Ancestry.ca--Time for Another Look
by Sherry Irvine, CG, FSA Scot
Back in February I wrote an introductory article about Ancestry.ca.
Recently two census databases have been added, the national
enumeration of 1901 Census of Canada and the 1906 census of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These are added to
the 1911 census data that was
available from the launch of the site. It is the recent additions
that I am considering in this article.
The Fourth National Census, 1901
The first census of the young nation of Canada was taken in 1871,
four years after four colonies became Canada. Manitoba and British
Columbia joined Canada in 1870 and 1871 and therefore missed being
included in the census. By 1901, the year of the fourth census, there
were seven provinces, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia, and the
Territories, a vast area that included what became Saskatchewan,
Alberta, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories.
Government officials planning censuses increased the number of
questions every time; for example, there were twelve columns to be
completed on the form in 1891 and thirty-one in 1901. All the
additional information is a benefit to genealogists, although I wish
two columns from 1891 had been retained--the ones asking for the
birthplaces of the individual's father and mother. Their absence is
partially compensated for by the addition of questions about origin,
nationality, and date of immigration. Also useful for genealogy is
the addition of columns for date and place of birth, as well as
another for the exact date of birth. The 1901 census also seeks
information about the work or employment of each person and how much
they earned.
The 1901 census register volumes are wide and the column headings,
especially on a computer monitor or on a print out, appear in tiny
print.
[AWJ Editor's Note: You can download a printable blank form for the
Canadian Census]
Beginning with the name of each person enumerated, this is the
list of columns:
- Name of each person in household 31 March 1901
- Sex
- Colour
- Relationship to head of household
- Single, married, widowed, or divorced
- Month and date of birth
- Year of birth
- Age at last birthday
- Country or place of birth (If Canada, include province and add "r" or
"u" for rural or urban.)
- Year of immigration
- Year of naturalization
- Racial or tribal origin
- Racial or tribal origin
- Nationality
- Religion
- Profession, occupation, or trade
- Living on own means
- Employer, Employee, or Working on Own Account
- Working at a trade in factory or in home
- Months employed at trade in factory
- Months employed at trade in home
- Months employed in other occupation than trade in factory or home
- Earnings from occupation or trade
- Months at school in the year
- Can read
- Can write
- Can speak English
- Can speak French
- Mother tongue
- Infirmities
Look Closely at What Was Asked
We use census returns primarily for their relationship information
and for details about age, place of residence, birthplace, and
occupation. All these facts give each individual a unique identity
and this helps in tracking the course of an ancestor's life. The 1901
census provides additional details that can be used to find other
records or to look for unusual sources of background history or
biography.
The extended information about occupation could lead you to resources
about local economic history, to the agricultural returns of the 1901
census, to local directories and to newspapers looking for
advertisements and articles. The question about religion had been
asked in every census up to this point. This means you can check the
information against past census returns and in relation to the
churches in the vicinity of where your ancestor lived. Canada did not
have an established church, and civil registration records start
later than census returns, in some cases after 1900, so help with
church records is valuable.
I was intrigued to read the point on the 1901 form about using "r"
and "u" to indicate whether the Canadian birthplace was rural or
urban. I have gone back to look at the forms of some of my ancestors
to see what was entered. This fact can be another clue to family
origins and background.
A Special Prairie Census, 1906
A large number of immigrants went to the Canadian West in the five
years after the 1901 census. In addition, there were some boundary
changes because Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces. The
Canadian government decided to take a mid-term census of Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, and Alberta in 1906.
Scan the pages of this census and you see a lot of people who were
born in the United States. This was a period when tens of thousands
came north every year to help in the Canadian harvest. Many of them
stayed and many families had children born in Canada and in the
United States.
Only five years separate this census from those of 1901 and 1911, and
all three are online. The information is not as extensive as in 1901
census, but there are details about year of immigration to Canada and
the precise location of the residence.
Conclusion
Taken together with the 1911 census, these two resources add a great
deal to help with research in Canadian ancestors, especially those
who lived between Ontario and the Rocky Mountains.
About the Author
Sherry Irvine, CG, FSA Scot, is an author, teacher, and lecturer
specializing in English, Scottish, and Irish family history. She is
the author of Your English Ancestry (2d ed., 1998) and Researching
Scottish Ancestry (2003), and she is a contributor to several
publications. Since 1996, she has been a study-tour leader, course
coordinator, and instructor for the Institute of Genealogy and
Historical Research at Samford University. Recently she served a two-
year term as president of the Association of Professional
Genealogists.
Online Classes
Sherry Irvine has teamed up with Helen Osborn for a new series of
online courses. For more information, visit
www.pharostutors.com.