Canada, Ontario Census, 1861 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This census was taken on January 14, 1861 and applied to the residents as of the previous night (January 13, 1861).

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.

The Census contains the 1861 census for the province of Ontario. At this time Ontario was not yet part of the Dominion of Canada, but was called Canada West. The census taker took the information on the census day starting January 14, 1861. Census takers were asked to record information about all those who were in each household on the census 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 sub districts 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.

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.

Record Content
These census records may contain the following information:


 * Name of resident
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Religion
 * Place of birth
 * Approximate year of birth
 * Place of residence

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.

Using the Information
When you have located the record of your ancestor, the following can help you further your research:


 * Use the calculated birth year and birthplace to search for a birth record in the Ontario, Births and Baptisms, 1779-1899 collection

General Information About These Records
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

 * Ontario Genweb Census Project
 * Canada census on archive.org

Related Wiki Articles

 * Canada Census
 * Ontario
 * Ontario Census

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.