Census Enumerators' Books

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

During the decennial England and Wales Censuses of 1841 to 1901, the individual schedules returned from each household were transcribed and collated by the census enumerators into Census Enumerators’ Books (CEBs).

It is these CEBs that are used by researchers in the fields of social science, local and family history etc.

Their contents changed over time.

[edit] Area Descriptions at the head of each page

1841
- City or Borough of
- Parish or Township of
1851
- Parish or Township of
- Eccliastical District of
- City or Borough of
- Town of
- Village of
1861
- Parish or Township of
- City or Municipal Borough of
- Municipal Ward of
- Parliamentary Borough of
- Town of
- Hamlet or Tithing of
- Ecclesiastical District of
1871
- Civil Parish (or Township) of
- City or Municipal Borough of
- Municipal Ward of
- Parliamentary Borough of
- Town of
- Village or Hamlet of
- Local Board (or Improvement Commissioner’s District) of
1881
- Civil Parish (or Township) of
- City or Municipal Borough of
- Municipal Ward of
- Parliamentary Borough of
- Town or Village or Hamlet of
- Urban Sanitary District of
- Rural Sanitary District of
- Ecclesiastical Parish or District of
1891
- Administrative County of
- Civil Parish of
- Municipal Borough of
- Municipal Ward of
- Urban Sanitary District of
- Town or Village or Hamlet of
- Rural Sanitary District of
- Parliamentary Borough or Division of
- Ecclesiastical Parish or District of

[edit] Structure of CEB

Number of Householder’s Schedule
- In 1841, if present at all, this was written in the margin
Place (1841) otherwise Name of Street, Place or Road, and Name or No. of House
- From 1851 to 1901 this column’s description varied somewhat
Houses Inhabited, Uninhabited or Building
- Not in 1851
Number of Rooms Occupied if less than 5
- 1891 only
Name and Surname of each Person who abode in the house on the night of <date>
- Similar wording throughout
Relation to Head of Family
- Not in 1841
Condition - i.e. Single, Married, Widowed etc
- Not in 1841
Age and Sex
- In 1841 ages of adults were normally rounded down to the next lowest 5 e.g. 21 => 20, 29 => 25
Occupation
- Wording changed over time
Employed, Employer, or Own Account
- In 1891 and 1901 (different wording in 1891)
Where born
- In 1841 whether born in the county, Scotland, Ireland, or Foreign Parts
Whether deaf-and-dumb, blind, imbecile, idiot, or lunatic
- Not in 1841