Ireland Census, 1901 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Ireland

What is in This Collection?
In this 1901 Irish census, Ireland was not only interested in the people living in their country, but also any visitors. The government also wanted to know what religions they were. In this census, farms and businesses were also detailed.

The 1901 and 1911 Censuses are the only surviving censuses for the country of Ireland after the Irish Civil War bombing on 30 June 1922, when a massive explosion and fire demolished the building and the other records.

Additionally, there are other Irish genealogy records that have survived, such as:
 * Civil registrations
 * Parish registers
 * Baptism, marriage, and burial records for Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, and Methodists
 * Griffith’s valuations (land records)

What Can These Records Tell Me?
On “Form A” of the census is where personal information was captured. Everyone present in the house during the visit was counted. This included residents, visitors, boarders, servants, and anyone else who slept at that house on Sunday, March 31, 1901. Information collected on “Form A” can include: The information captured on “Form B1” counted houses and buildings and the number of people in them. The data can include: The information captured on “Form B2” counted farms and businesses (not people) and can include: “Form N” was a summary of the total number of people in a given town. The information can include:
 * First and last name, with occasional middle initial for the head of household
 * Relation to head of family
 * Religion
 * Literacy—whether the person could read and write
 * Age at last birthday
 * Gender
 * Occupation
 * Marital status
 * Where born—Irish county or city, or another country
 * Irish language—whether the person speaks Irish only, or Irish and English
 * Handicap—whether the person was blind or had other handicaps
 * House/building location: County, District, Parish
 * Whether the house/building was a private dwelling, public building, school, manufacturing place, hotel, lodging, or shop
 * Number of other buildings on property (detailed in Form B2)
 * Whether the house was inhabited
 * Building materials used in house/building, including how many windows it had
 * Number of families in the house/building
 * Name of each head of family in the house/building
 * Number of rooms occupied by each family
 * Total number of people in each family
 * Number of people in the family who were sick
 * Landholder’s name
 * Farm location: County, District, Parish
 * Number of stables, coach houses, harness rooms, cow houses, calf houses, dairies, piggeries, fowl houses, boiling houses, barns, turn houses, potato houses, workshops, sheds, stores, forges, and laundries
 * Location: County, District, Parish
 * Total number of dwelling houses
 * Total number of families and persons in each house
 * Total number of Roman Catholics, Protestant Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Independents, Baptists, Quakers, Jews, or other religions in each house

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of your ancestor
 * Identifying information such as age or names of other family members

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record
 * Use the names of the head of household and spouse to search for a marriage record
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * The relationships given will help you to organize family groups
 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even a county
 * You may be able to identify an earlier generation if elderly parents were living with or close by a married child
 * You may be able to identify a younger generation if a young married couple still lived with one of their sets of parents

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related
 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family in the census
 * You may have to read around marks made by the clerks who compiled the census data. These marks sometimes obscure the information
 * Accept the ages with caution
 * Given names may not be the same as a name recorded in church or vital records
 * The information may be incorrect
 * Names may be spelled phonetically (or as they sounded to the census taker)
 * Place-names may be misspelled
 * Individuals missing from a family may be listed elsewhere in the census
 * Search the surrounding area

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Ireland.
 * Ireland Guided Research
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.