Census Online records – a unique resource
Census records are a unique family history resource. They visit and revisit our ancestors throughout their lives, providing us with regular time stamps. Where were they living? What were their occupations? Who did they live with and what was their relationship? Census records can tell a story of fortunes gained, lost or (more probably) never found. In short, they provide an essential narrative for family historians.
Ancient census returns
The concept of a census dates back to ancient times. All major civilisations such as the Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians and Romans, conducted some sort of census. However, their reasons for doing so were chiefly for military or taxation purposes. As a result, they did not count the whole population – and those members of the population who were counted invariably had a reason to be less than truthful.
In ancient Rome, a census was taken every 5 years. The purpose was to establish a person’s wealth – the greater a person’s wealth, the greater a person’s military contribution and, by extension, importance.
The most prominent ancient census was the ‘Census of Quirinius’ named after the Roman Governor of Syria. This was the census of Judea mentioned in Luke’s Gospel when it described the events leading up to Jesus Christ’s birth.
The Domesday Book
The Domesday Book was a ‘Great Survey’ to establish how much property each man held in England and parts of Wales. Commissioned by William the Conqueror (William I) in 1085, primarily for taxation purposes, it is almost the only large scale enumeration of people between the fall of Rome and 17th Century.
The Modern Era
The practice of taking a national census was reintroduced back into the West in the 17th Century. The motives for this renewed interest varied from country to country; military and taxation concerns still played a part, as many countries needed to establish the number of fighting men or maximise their tax receipts. However, the concept of counting an entire population in order to establish population trends also took root during this period.
The first country to conduct a (relatively) modern census was Quebec and Nova Scotia in 1665, whilst a federal US Census did not occur until 1790. A few years’ later, the UK finally embraced the idea of a national census in 1801, prompted by a fear of population growth and a desire to establish the number of fighting men prior to the Napoleonic Wars. However, it was essentially a ‘head count’ and it was not until the UK census of 1841 that basic personal details such as name and (a rough idea of) age were recorded. Our ancestors would no doubt be appalled at the information asked in a modern census return!
Today, nearly every country holds a regular census, usually every 5 or 10 years.
The current world population is around 7.9 billion.