Ireland Census: Difference between revisions

*[http://homepage.eircom.net/~hi5holidays/famhist/ireland.html Wexford City Census Street Index 1901 and 1911]

*[https://theknittinggenie.com/2016/04/12/spinner-and-weaver-of-ballyknock-county-mayo/ Spinner and Weaver of Ballyknock, County Mayo] 1841 Census Return.

== Purposes for Taking a Census  ==

Government censuses of the population are particularly valuable because they list nearly all the population at a given time. The Irish government took a census in 1813 (which no longer exists), then every ten years from 1821 through 1911. Due to the Irish Civil War of 1921-22, another census was not taken until 1926. The next census was taken in 1936. Starting in 1946, censuses were taken every five years through 1971. Since 1971, censuses have been taken every ten years.  

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'' (FHL 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.  

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.  

You will find the following information in the various censuses:  

*FamilySearch.org which has [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/show?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fcatalog-search-api%3A8080%2Fwww-catalogapi-webservice%2Fitem%2F4316 certified copies of extracts] from the 1821, 1841, 1851 census

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has some census records for Northern Ireland. All other census records, including the surviving early fragments, are kept at the National Archives. For a more detailed list of surviving census returns, see:  

*Begley, Donal F., ed. ''Irish Genealogy: A Record Finder.'' Dublin, Ireland: Heraldic Artists, 1981. (Family History Library book Ref {{FHL|94161|title-id|disp=941.5 D27i}}.)  

*Wood, Herbert. ''A Guide to the Records Deposited in the Public Record Office of Ireland''. Dublin: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1919. pp 286-287. (Family History Library book British {{FHL|50357|title-id|disp=941.5 A3ip}}.)  

*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, Family History Library book ref. 941.5 B2i

=== 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]].  

When searching government census records, remember that:  

== Census Indexes  ==

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:  

*Voting registers or poll books

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.  

The two primary Religious Censuses&nbsp;enumerated in Ireland were for the years&nbsp;1740 and&nbsp;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&nbsp;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.  

IRELAND, [COUNTY] - CENSUS  

IRELAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - CENSUS  

Mr. Shaw Mason petitioned the clergy of the Church of Ireland (Established Church) to help him correct the returns of the 1813 census (see Ireland Census). He requested that they return the number of families in their parishes stipulating the religion and the average number in each household. Likewise, he also appealed to the Presbyterian Clergy for similar returns of the congregations over which they presided. The collection was destroyed in the Public Record Office in 1922, but extacts may exist in various Irish genealogical collections. The collection originally contained the correspondence and returns made by the clergy.  

== Census Substitutes  ==