Canada, Nova Scotia Census, 1861 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
These records include the 1861 census for the province of Nova Scotia. The census day was March 30, 1860.

Census schedules were taken on large sheets of paper with preprinted rows and columns. They are bound into volumes, arranged by county, then by township and enumeration district.

Census takers were asked to record information about all those who were in each household on the census day, as well as any who have died since that day. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information he collected was supposed to be about the people who were in the house on the census day. Enumeration was by census district.

Census districts were voting districts, not counties, although most have the same names as counties. For the most part, census districts were synonymous with cities and counties, and subdistricts were synonymous with towns, townships, and city wards. Villages, small towns, and parishes were generally enumerated as part of the township in which they were located. Census district and county boundaries were not always the same, and there were many variations from location to location.

Canadian census records were taken to enumerate the population for representation, taxation, and other purposes.

The accuracy of the census depended on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the enumerator. Realize that the information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or even by a neighbor.

Record Content
Census records usually contain the following information:


 * Name
 * Gender
 * Marital status
 * Race
 * Residence
 * Profession
 * Family members

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year and place of residence

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

General Information About This Collection
This census lists the birthplace for each person, along with his or her age, and other personal information. Since the census attempted to record all the people living in a household, it may identify individuals for whom other records simply do not exist.

Related Websites
Nova Scotia GenWeb Project

Related Wiki Articles

 * Canada Census
 * Nova Scotia
 * Nova Scotia Census

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.