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  • 1861 Canada census
    • Main contributor: Craig Kanalley
    map of the province of canada
    Map of the Province of Canada, which included modern-day Quebec and Ontario, recorded in the 1861 Canada census.

    The 1861 Canada census was a survey of the population of Canada East (Quebec), Canada West (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. It began January 14, 1861 and continued through the year.[1]

    At the time, Canada was not yet a confederation. It was instead made up of individual provinces. Canada East and Canada West were part of the larger Province of Canada.

    Since the census was conducted at the provincial level, it was not uniform. Canada East, Canada West, and New Brunswick listed all individuals in the household. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island only recorded the names of heads of households.

    As a window into the population a decade before the first official national census of Canada in 1871, the 1861 Canada census offers a rich source of information for genealogists. A total of 3,112,269 individuals were included in the census of 1861 with the largest populations in Canada West (1,396,091) and Canada East (1,110,664).[1]

    The census can be searched in MyHeritage's 1861 Canada Census collection.

    Research your ancestors on MyHeritage

    Header informationHeader information

    1861 census header information Canada West Canada East
    Header information for the 1861 census in Canada West and Canada East.
    1. Enumeration District Number
    2. Sub-District Name
    3. District Name
    4. Page Number

    The header for Canada West and Canada East followed the format above. Typically the sub-district represented a township and the district was a county. For the other provinces:

    • New Brunswick listed sub-district name and district name with a sheet number
    • Nova Scotia listed place, polling district number, and abstract number
    • Prince Edward Island listed only the name of the town, township or lot number

    The Library and Archives Canada has a complete list of districts and sub-districts for the 1861 census.

    Column informationColumn information

    The column information differed by province. The vast majority of census returns were from Canada West and Canada East, which followed the same format with Canada West in English and Canada East in French.

    Canada West and Canada EastCanada West and Canada East

    1861 Canada census column information
    Column information for 1861 census in Canada West and Canada East

    Personal informationPersonal information

    Questions 1-21 collected the following information:

    • Question 1: Name of each individual, typically written as first name, then last name
    • Question 2: Profession, trade or occupation
    • Question 3: Place of birth
      • Common abbreviations: CE (Canada East), CW (Canada West), LC (Lower Canada), NB (New Brunswick), NE or NS (Nova Scotia), PEI (Prince Edward Island) UC (Upper Canada)
    • Question 4: Married during the year
    • Question 5: Religion
      • Common abbreviations: BC (Christian Bible), CE (Church of England), CS (Church of Scotland), EMC (Episcopal Methodist Church), FC (Free Church - Presbyterian), MEC (Methodist Episcopal Church), PCLP (Presbyterian Church of the Lower Provinces), PFC (Presbyterian Free Church), RC (Roman Catholic), RP (Reformed Presbyterian), UP (United Presbyterian), WM (Wesleyan Methodist)
    • Question 6: Residence if out of limits
    • Question 7: Age at next birthday. Take note of the unique wording of this question.
    • Question 8: Sex. M (male) or F (female) as provided to the enumerator
    • Question 9: Married or single. M (married) or S (single)
    • Questions 10-11: Widower or widow.
    • Question 12: Colored persons, mulatto or Indian. Indicated if applicable.
    • Question 13: Residents: members of family. If the individual fit this category, a 1 or slash is present.
    • Question 14: Residents: not members. If the individual fit this category, a 1 or slash is present.
    • Question 15: Members of family absent. If the individual fit this category, a 1 or slash is present.
    • Question 16: Deaf and Dumb, Blind, or Lunatic or Idiot. Each of these three categories has its own column and it can be marked.
    • Question 17: Attending school in the last year. If the individual fit this category, a 1 or slash is present.
    • Question 18: Persons over 20 who cannot read or write. If the individual fit this category, a 1 or slash is present.
    • Question 19: Birth in 1860. Indicated if applicable.
    • Question 20: Death in 1860. Indicated if applicable.
    • Question 21: Age and Cause of death. Indicated if applicable.

    Household informationHousehold information

    The remaining questions were specific to the household:

    • Question 22: Brick, Stone, Frame, Log, etc. Type of house is indicated.
    • Question 23: Number of stories.
    • Question 24: Number of families living in the house.
    • Question 25: Vacant. Indicated if applicable.
    • Question 26: Being built. Indicated if applicable.

    Agricultural and business informationAgricultural and business information

    Agricultural surveys were also conducted as part of the 1861 census. If someone appears on an agricultural census page, the following information was recorded:

    • Livestock: Count of horses, cows, sheep, pigs, including value in dollars.
    • Carriages: Count of carriages for pleasure and their value, count of carriages for hire and their value.
    • Quantity of land
    • Name of business or manufacture. If applicable.
    • Number of hands employed.
    • Average cost per month of labor.

    New BrunswickNew Brunswick

    Column information for 1861 census in New Brunswick
    Column information for 1861 census in New Brunswick



    New Brunswick collected 16 columns of information for each individual:

    • Column 1: Number. Each individual was assigned a number in numerical order.
    • Column 2: Name of each individual, typically written as first name, then last name
    • Column 3: Sex. M (male) or F (female) as provided to the enumerator
    • Column 4: Relationship to head of family.
    • Column 5: Age
    • Column 6: Race and where born. Note that Native meant born in that province, not Aboriginal.
    • Column 7: Rank or occupation
    • Column 8: Religious profession
    • Column 9: Children at school within the year. Indicated as applicable.
    • Column 10: Sick and infirm. Marked if applicable.
    • Column 11: Deaf and dumb. Marked if applicable.
    • Column 12: Blind. Marked if applicable.
    • Column 13: Lunatic or idiot. Marked if applicable.
    • Column 14: Birth in previous year. Marked if applicable.
    • Column 15: Death in preceding year. Marked if applicable.
    • Column 16: Marriage in preceding year. Marked if applicable.

    Nova ScotiaNova Scotia

    Nova Scotia only collected the names of heads of households. The following information was provided:

    • Column 1: Name of Head of Family, typically written as first name last name.
    • Column 2: Total number of males in household.
    • Column 3: Total number of females in household.
    • Column 4: Total number of individuals in household.
    • Column 5: Births since March 1860. If applicable, number of male births and female births for the household.
    • Column 6: Under one year of age. Number of males, number of females.
    • Column 7: Died under one year of age since March 30, 1860. Number of males, number of females.
    • Column 8: Over one and under two years of age. Number of males, number of females.
    • Column 9: Deaths between 1 and 2 years since March 30, 1860. Number of males, number of females.

    That marks the end of the first page. The subsequent pages continue to go through additional age brackets for household members, including 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, and then in 10-year buckets, 21-30, 31-40, etc. all the way up to a column for over 100.

    The total number of married, single, and widowers is provided for males and females in each household. The total number of deaf and dumb, blind, lunatics and idiots are provided for each household. Number of members who could not read or write was provided.

    If a marriage occurred in the household since March 30, 1860, that was indicated. Total number of deaths by male and female is also listed.

    Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island

    Prince Edward Island only listed the names of heads of families. The following information was provided for each family:

    • Column 1: Name of city, town, township or royalty
    • Column 2: Name of the head of each family
    • Column 3: Trade, profession, or occupation
    • Column 4: Males under 5 years of age
    • Column 5: Males 5-16
    • Column 6: Males 16-21
    • Column 7: Males 21-45
    • Column 8: Males 45-60
    • Column 9: Males 60+
    • Column 10: Females under 5 years of age
    • Column 11: Females 5-16
    • Column 12: Females 16-21
    • Column 13: Females 21-45
    • Column 14: Females 45-60
    • Column 15: Females 60+

    Additional columns listed the total number of deaf and dumb, blind, those who had smallpox, married persons, single persons, insane, and how many family members were born, married or died in the past year, and religious affiliation.

    Citing the 1861 Canada censusCiting the 1861 Canada census

    Here is an example for citing the 1861 Canada census:

    Census of 1861, [Name of Province], [District Name], [Sub-district]. Population Schedule, [Page #], [Name of Person]. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/ Library and Archives Canada.


    See alsoSee also

    Explore more about the 1861 Canada censusExplore more about the 1861 Canada census

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Census of 1861. Library and Archives Canada


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    APA citation (7th Ed.)

    Craig Kanalley. (2024, June 5). *1861 Canada census*. MyHeritage Wiki. https://www.myheritage.com/wiki/1861_Canada_census