Canada Census, 1891 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada

What is in this Collection?
The official day of the 1891 census for Canada, was taken was April 6, 1891. This is important because it represents the population on that exact day.

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

Census schedules were taken on large sheets of paper with pre-printed rows and columns. The categories are in both English and French. The schedules were organized by province and then by census districts and sub districts. This collection of the 1891 census contains the population schedules for the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories (Alberta, Assiniboia, and Saskatchewan).

Following the Constitution Act, 1867, census taking became a federal mandate. The first census was set for 1871 and every ten years thereafter. Therefore, the third national Canadian census was conducted in 1891. 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.

The accuracy of the census depended on the knowledge of the informant as anyone in the household, or even neighbors, could give information to the census taker.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Census records may contain the following information:


 * Full name
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Approximate year of birth
 * Marital status
 * Religion
 * Town, village, township, or sub-district of residence

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The place where your ancestor lived.
 * The names of family members.

Search by Name by visiting the [Collection Page: 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s census record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the birthplace and age given in the census for each person to search the Canada Births and Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records) collection.
 * If the census lists their religious affiliation, search the church records for the province that your ancestor is listed in.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * These censuses list a large proportion of the population. Unfortunately, portions of some have been lost, and some geographical areas within the provinces were missed by the census takers.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):