France Census: Difference between revisions
(Added some material adapted from the French Wikipedia article) |
(Translated references & notes) |
||
| Line 47: | Line 47: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Age | | Age | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref> Census 1831: "Age" is missing, instead "Year of birth" is recorded.</ref>'''</font> | ||
| yes | | yes | ||
| | | | ||
| Line 61: | Line 61: | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Address<br> | | Address<br> | ||
| yes | | yes | ||
| | | | ||
| Line 87: | Line 87: | ||
| yes | | yes | ||
| yes | | yes | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref name="Recensements de 1881, 1886 et 1891"> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref name="Recensements de 1881, 1886 et 1891">Censuses of 1881, 1886 and 1891: marital status is replaced by the position in the household.</ref>'''</font> | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref name="Recensements de 1881, 1886 et 1891" />'''</font> <br> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref name="Recensements de 1881, 1886 et 1891" />'''</font> <br> | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref name="Recensements de 1881, 1886 et 1891" />'''</font> <br> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref name="Recensements de 1881, 1886 et 1891" />'''</font> <br> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 106: | Line 106: | ||
| yes | | yes | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Other questions<br> | | Other questions<br> | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref>Census 1831 also asked: Can read or write, Contribution to the role of the commune, Non-taxation, Type of house roofing.</ref>'''</font> | ||
| | | | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref>Census 1841also asked: Type of house roofing.</ref>'''</font> | ||
| | | | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref>Census 1851 also asked: Religion, Disabilities and illnesses.</ref>'''</font> | ||
| | | | ||
| | | | ||
| | | | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref name="recensements de 1872 et 1876"> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref name="recensements de 1872 et 1876">Censuses 1872 and 1876 also asked: Place of birth.</ref>'''</font> | ||
| <font size="+1">'''<ref name="recensements de 1872 et 1876" />'''</font> <br> | | <font size="+1">'''<ref name="recensements de 1872 et 1876" />'''</font> <br> | ||
| | | | ||
| | | | ||
| Line 122: | Line 122: | ||
|} | |} | ||
== References == | == Notes and References == | ||
<references /><br> | <references /><br> | ||
<br> | |||
<br> | |||
[[Category:France|Census]] | [[Category:France|Census]] | ||
Revision as of 06:37, 22 December 2012
France 
Census
A census is a count and description of a population. Censuses have been taken by the government of France, by individual towns, and by some old provinces. These have been taken primarily for military purposes, taxation, or identification of the poor.
French national censuses have not been microfilmed and are seldom used for genealogical research. Unlike the censuses of the United States, Canada, or Great Britain, they cannot be easily used to locate families. Because French censuses are not indexed, it is not easy to find a name in them. Church records and indexed civil registration are better sources.
The first national census listing names in France was taken in the year 1772. Most national censuses from 1795 to 1836 show only statistics without personal names. From 1836 until 1936, a national census was taken every five years except for 1871 (which was taken in 1872) and 1916 (which was skipped).
Census records less than one hundred years old are confidential and may not be searched by individuals. However, some archivists are not strict with this rule and may allow access to census records up to the last 30 years.
Some earlier censuses may have been destroyed because of an 1887 decree, but this law was not applied everywhere. Early town and provincial censuses usually covered a smaller portion of the local population.
Census records do not consistently give the same information, but after 1836 they usually give the surname and given names, age, occupation, head of house, nationality, and sometimes the birthplace. Use the information with caution, however, since the information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.
National censuses are usually found in the departmental archives. They are not microfilmed by the Family History Library. The early local census records (tax records) of a few towns have been published or microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog in the Place Search under FRANCE, [DEPARTMENT], [TOWN] - CENSUS.
For more details about French censuses see page 81 of Guide des recherches sur l'histoire des familles.
Information collected from 1831 to 1891[edit | edit source]
| 1831 | 1836 | 1841 | 1846 | 1851 | 1856 | 1861 | 1866 | 1872 | 1876 | 1881 | 1886 | 1891 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | These categories included in all censuses from 1831 | ||||||||||||
| Given names | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | |||||||||||||
| Age | [1] | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||
| Address |
yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |||
| Marital status | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | [2] | [2] |
[2] |
| Nationality | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||||||
| Other questions |
[3] | [4] | [5] | [6] | [6] |
||||||||
Notes and References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Census 1831: "Age" is missing, instead "Year of birth" is recorded.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Censuses of 1881, 1886 and 1891: marital status is replaced by the position in the household.
- ↑ Census 1831 also asked: Can read or write, Contribution to the role of the commune, Non-taxation, Type of house roofing.
- ↑ Census 1841also asked: Type of house roofing.
- ↑ Census 1851 also asked: Religion, Disabilities and illnesses.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Censuses 1872 and 1876 also asked: Place of birth.