Ireland Census: Difference between revisions

Only parts of the early civil censuses survive. The censuses from 1821 through 1851 were mostly destroyed in the 1922 fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin. The censuses from 1861 through 1891 were destroyed by the government sometime after statistics had been compiled from them. For more information see the Family History Library reference guide ''Register of Ireland Census & Census Substitutes'' (FS Library book 941.5 X23c) or see [[Ireland Census fragments available at the Family History Library]]. Also there is the [[Ireland Householders Index]]. From 1823 to 1864, records were kept of people who paid taxes to the Church of Ireland or the government in Ireland.  

'''1831.''' The [[Ireland Census fragments available at the Family History Library|1831 census lists]] only the head of the household, the number of children and adults in the household, and the religion of each household member. This census was taken under the Parliamentary Act 1 Will. IV., c. 19.  

'''1841.''' The [[Ireland Census fragments available at the Family History Library|1841 census lists]]—for every member of the household—name, age, sex, relationship to the head of the household, marital status (and if married, the number of years married), occupation, and birthplace. In addition, it has two schedules that were filled out if applicable. One reported absent members of the household and provided the standard census information plus the current place of residence for each. The other listed members of the household who had died since the last census and recorded for each the cause and year of death, age at death, sex, relationship to the head of the household, and occupation. This census was taken under the Parliamentary Act 3 and 4 Vic., c. 100.  

'''1851.''' The [[Ireland Census fragments available at the Family History Library|1851 census lists]] the same information as the 1841 census. It also has the two schedules that were filled out if applicable. One reported absent members of the household and provided the standard census information plus the current place of residence for each. The other listed members of the household who had died since the last census and recorded for each the cause and year of death, age at death, sex, relationship to the head of the household, and occupation. This census was taken under the Parliamentary Act 13 and 14 Vic., c. 44.  

To determine which religious censuses are available at the Family History Library, consult the following sources:  

*''Register of Ireland Census and Census Substitutes''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985. (Family History Library {{FSC|941.5 D23s|disp=book Ref 941.5 X23c; film 1,441,023 item 1}}.) This library reference contains a county-by-county list of the library's religious census returns, along with their call numbers.

Religious census returns available at the Family History Library are also listed in the Place Search of the library catalog under the following headings:  

===Finding Censuses Available at the Family History Library===

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the early census fragments and it also has the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Follow these steps to find the Library film numbers.  

See also [[Ireland Census fragments available at the Family History Library]] and [[Ireland Householders Index]].  

Surname indexes exist for many census localities. To see a list of census indexes available online, go to the 'Census Finder' web page for Ireland and check the list for your county of interest.  Some are available at the Family History Library.  Some surname indexes are listed in Smith's ''Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland,'' available at the library in the British Reference area.  Others are  listed in the library catalog.  To find them in the catalog, see the instructions below under 'Finding Indexes.'  

Sometimes, you may not&nbsp; find your ancestor in these large country wide indexes. Perhaps, a mistake was made when these large indexes were made, or a person's name was not easy to recognize in the census enumeration book, or the surname was spelled differently. In such a situation, you may be able to find your ancestor in the census by using a smaller surname index for the parish or town of interest. When looking at a smaller index, it can also be easier to pick out an alternative spelling of a person's surname. These indexes are also ideal for finding all of the people with a specific surname in a specific location. See the instructions below under 'Finding Indexes' for a table containing links to the surname indexes for local places that are available at the Family History Library.<br>  

If you know the address of an ancestor who lived in a large city, street indexes can help you quickly find that ancestor's census record&nbsp;when a surname index is not available. Street indexes for the 1901 and 1911 census referencing streets in Dublin, Belfast, [[Media:Cork Map.jpg|Cork]], Limerick, Londonderry, and Waterford are available at the Family History Library under the title:  

*&nbsp;''Ireland 1901 and 1911 Census Street Index''. Typescript. 3 vols. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982. (Family History Library {{FSC|123439|title-id|disp=book Ref 941.5 X22i; fiche 6035493-95}}; see also below.)

To find census indexes online, use the links given previously.&nbsp; To find indexes at the Family History Library,&nbsp;follow these instructions:  

Below are the links to find the Family History Library call numbers for local&nbsp;placename indexes. If a county is not in the table, then there are no local indexes for that county in the library's collection when this wiki entry was made.&nbsp;(You may want to check the library catalog to see if additional indexes have been added to&nbsp;the library's collection&nbsp;by doing a place search for a specific county.)  

In addition to the official government censuses, religious censuses were taken at various times. For example, in 1766 the government required ministers of the Church of Ireland to compile a return of all heads of household in their parishes. The name of the head of household, the religion of each family, and the activities of Catholic clergy in the area were noted in this census. All the original returns were deposited in the Public Record Office, Dublin, and subsequently destroyed in 1922. Extensive transcripts survive for some areas and are deposited in local archives in Ireland. Copies of surviving transcripts are also available at the Family History Library.