The first
ever national census in England and Wales was taken in 1801 but it
wasn't until 1841 that the individual names of people living at addresses
were entered and so it is this census which is the first of interest
to genealogists.
A
census has - with the exception of 1941 - been taken every decade
since. Although a census was
taken in 1931 the records were destroyed in a fire in 1942.
Due to privacy laws the census can only be made available to the public
100 years after it was taken. The
National
Archives have made the censuses from 1841
through until 1921
available online
and the most recent census open to scrutiny is the 1921
census.
In
addition a free
transcription of the 1881
census can also be seen on the internet at the International
Genealogical Index website.
The local record office for each county
hold each census for their particular area and local libraries may
also hold copies for their area.
As with all transcriptions the original source should always be checked
for accuracy. The original itself is prone to mistakes as often information
was entered wrongly or incompletely by the compilers or the people
themselves gave false information.
Otherwise the census is a rich resource for genealogists listing all
occupants living at an address, their occupations and their relationship
to one another. Exact ages and places of birth (except in 1841) are
also given enabling a search of the baptism/birth records for a specific
location and year.
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