Oh Canada 1901 Census

Wow, it's been a great couple of weeks for online census data, hasn't it? And it's only getting better. The National Archives of Canada have announced an online version of the 1901 census. The snag is that you can't search for people names but place names.

The introduction to the census can be found at http://www.archives.ca/02 /020122_e.html . Here you can read an introduction to the census, check out the frequently-asked-questions, or search the database.

Searching the database is not the ususal firstname-lastname thing. Instead you can specify province/territory, and then enter a city or town name. Check the FAQ for a variety of information about how to specify place names and the answer to the question, "Where's Newfoundland?" If this search page isn't enough for you the detailed search allows you to specify subdistrict names and numbers and even do a keyword search.

A search for "Eagle" in all territories found twelve results. Each result includes province/territory name, district name and number, notes, and reference number. There's also a pulldown menu offering images associated with the search results. Use the pulldown menu to specify a page and you'll get a page of the census. (The MrSid plugin is a good idea, but not required to view the returned pages.)

The Canada 1901 census consisted of eleven "schedules" -- eleven pages of census data covering different topics. The first schedule is the population schedule -- this is the one you're used to seeing if you search censuses often. The second one is the "Buildings and lands, churches and schools" schedule, which provides information on the living places of different areas. There's no guarantee which one you'll get when you browse the pages associated with each search result, but most of the time you'll get one of these first two. Be sure to read the introduction to the census to get an idea of what is offered in each schedule. The pages are fairly easy to read; really easy if you have the MrSid plugin.)

Posted to Countries-Canada