Ireland Census: Difference between revisions

Because many of the earlier censuses are not available, census substitutes are especially useful for Ireland. These include tax, religous and poll lists among others. See the below section on census substitutes for more information on census substititues.  

'''1821.''' The [[Ireland Census Fragments|1821 census lists]]—for every member of the household—name, age, occupation, and relationship to the head of the household. The census also records the acreage held by the head of the household and the number of stories each dwelling had. This census was taken under the Parliamentary Act 55 Geo. III., c. 120. and a decennial census was consistently taken until 1911.  

'''1841.''' The [[Ireland Census fragments available at the FamilySearch 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.  

*The [http://www.censusfinder.com/ireland.htm Census Finder] website for Ireland

*Cargill, David C. Irishmen in Scottish Census Records. Two census returns in respect of Regiments stationed at Leith Fort and Piershill Barrachs in Edinburgh 1851. Regiments - Royal Artillery - gives names, places of birth in Ireland, civilian occupation. 13th Light Dragoons only gives name, position in Army, age, where came from in Irleand, and wife and children possibly maybe listed too. Article The Irish Ancestor, vol IV, no.1, 1972 pages 8-14, FS Library book ref. 941.5 B2i

*Scroll down and click the topic of '''Census'''.

Many of the surviving fragments of the early Irish censuses have been indexed. Indexes by surname and by address or street exist for the 1901 and 1911 censuses for many localities, including some online. Census indexes can save you time. However, indexes may be incorrect or incomplete. Therefore, if you believe your ancestor should be listed in a census area's index, but he or she is not, search the actual census anyway. For larger cities, you may want to use the street address from a city directory or a vital records certificate.

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 FamilySearch 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.'  

Some surname indexes are available online, particularly for the 1901 and 1911 censuses. See [http://www.censusfinder.com/ireland.htm 'Census Finder'] , and also see the National Archives of Ireland web page for [http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ census returns].

Sometimes, you may not 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 FamilySearch 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 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 FamilySearch Library under the title:  

* ''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. (FamilySearch Library {{FSC|123439|title-id|disp=book Ref 941.5 X22i; fiche 6035493-95}}; see also below.)

These volumes can give you the microfilm number of the records where your street of interest appears. Street indexes do not exist for earlier Irish censuses.  

The following sources may help you find an ancestor's address to look for in a street index:  

To find census indexes online, use the links given previously. To find indexes at the FamilySearch Library, follow these instructions:  

*Click on '''Place Search'''.

*Click '''View Film Notes '''to find the film or fiche numbers. If the index is in book form, the library book number will be given in the title details.

Below are the links to find the FamilySearch Library call numbers for local 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. (You may want to check the library catalog to see if additional indexes have been added to the library's collection by doing a place search for a specific county.)  

The two primary Religious Censuses enumerated in Ireland were for the years 1740 and 1766. These censuses were taken by the parochial clergy under the direction of Parliament to determine religious persuasions. In some instances, only the number of Catholics was recorded while the names of Protestants were recorded showing the bias toward Protestantism.  

Some ministers chose to take censuses of their parish or congregation for their own purposes. These records are usually in the custody of local ministers. Copies of the records may have been deposited in an Irish archive as well.  

Census substitutes are records that, like censuses, provide lists of individuals living in a specific area. Census substitutes may give the occupation, religion, residence, relationship, age, and/or the value of the property of the individuals they list. For more information, click on the link to go to the article on [[Ireland Census Substitutes|Ireland Census Substitutes]].