1851 Ireland Census

1851 Ireland Census held on 31 March 1851

The 1851 Ireland census carries huge significance; firstly, because it was the last Irish census of the 19th Century to boast any surviving census records (meagre as these are); also, because it was the first Ireland census to measure the devastating impact of the Potato Famine which dominated the second half of the 1840s.

The 1851 census of Ireland followed the same format as the 1841 Ireland census and the administration was largely the same. As usual, the 1851 census was held separately to (but at the same time as) the census of Great Britain.

What has survived?

Records for the 1851 Ireland census were almost totally destroyed by an explosion at the Four Courts in Dublin. However, these Ireland census records fared better than those for the rest of the 19th Century (which were totally destroyed). This obviously makes any surviving 1851 Ireland census records much sought after.

Fragments survive for the following counties:

• Antrim
• Belfast City (one ward)
• Dublin City (heads of household only)
• Fermanagh

Census Forms

The 1851 Ireland census introduced a number of separate census forms, most of which continued up until the partition of Ireland. They fell roughly into three groups; householders’ forms, institutional forms, and enumerators’ forms. Most of the new census questions related to sickness and disability; a core focus of this census.

Householders’ census forms

Form A – Family Return

The Family Return (Form A) retained the same unique three table format that was first adopted for the 1841 Ireland census. Once again, each householder had to supply the personal details of three sets of people.

Table 1 asked for the personal details of anyone who stayed overnight on census night; i.e. name, age, sex, relation (to householder), marriage status (including year/s of marriage), occupation, education (‘read’, ‘read and write’ or ‘cannot read’), where born, whether ‘deaf and dumb or blind’ (i.e. the new ‘disability question’ introduced across the UK).

The ‘education’ question, already unique to Ireland, was extended to ask whether an individual spoke Irish only, or Irish and English (if English only was spoken, no entry was made). It was not until the 1881 census that a similar ‘language’ question was introduced in another part the UK (i.e. Scotland, with Wales following in 1891).

Table 2 asked for the details of ‘persons belonging to each family’ who were absent on census night. It asked for the name, age, sex, relation (to householder) and occupation. It also asked where the individual was currently living.

Table 3 asked for the personal details of any individual who had died whilst staying with the householder. Table 3 asked the same questions as Table 2 but, instead of asking where an individual was currently living, it asked for details of an individual’s death (cause, year and season).

Once again, the Family Return was the only householders’ form in the UK to be kept once the census details had been copied out. Surviving Irish Family Returns are, therefore, usually in the householder’s own handwriting, making them far more interesting to family historians than their British counterparts.

Form C – Sick Return

This new form applied only to those households in which one of the occupants was sick on census night. It largely repeated Form A but asked also for details of the sickness or accident, its duration, and whether it prevented the affected individual carrying out his/her usual occupation.

Census forms for Institutions

The 1851 Ireland census introduced a large number of institutional forms that needed to be completed by the the heads of public institutions. There were forms for workhouses (Form E), hospitals (Form F), residents of colleges and schools (Form G), barracks (Form H), lunatic asylums/prisons (Form I) and prisons/bridewells aka houses of correction (Form K), pupils attending schools (Form L). Unfortunately, personal details were rarely recorded on these forms.

Enumerators’ Forms

Supplementary Form for the ‘deaf and dumb, or blind’

This Form collected further information on anyone identified as ‘deaf and dumb, or blind’ on either the Family Return or institutional forms for workhouses (E), hospitals (F), asylums (I) and schools(L). Usually completed by the enumerator (‘with utmost delicacy’), it recorded information such as; whether the disability was from birth, whether it was hereditary, whether it accompanied other disabilities etc.

Form B – House and Building Return

This form, which recorded each family’s living conditions, was largely a repeat of the House Survey which had first made an appearance in the 1841 Ireland census. Whilst distributing the Family Returns in the days before census day, each enumerator recorded the following information:

• Description of each building; type of building (e.g. private dwelling) whether inhabited, construction of building and roof, number of storeys/rooms/front windows/[NEW:] total outside windows.
• Number of families per house.
• Name of the head of each family.
• [NEW:] Number of persons who were sick on census night (split M/F).

The questions relating to farms was removed.

Form B – the Ship Return

A new section was added to Form B; the ‘Ship Return’ which enumerated all those aboard vessels. This was a head count only so of little use to family historians.

Form D – ‘Insanity or Idiocy’ Return

This new form recorded the personal details of the insane or ‘idiots’ who were not institutionalised.

Form O – Emigrants and Passengers

This form was considered necessary in view of the ‘great emigration now in progress’. It recorded the port, ship, intended destination and departure date. Personal information of all those boarding the ship included; name, age, sex and occupation, where from, and were going to. Also, whether the emigration was intended to be temporary or permanent.

Form P – Inquest Return

This was completed by the Clerk of the Crown rather than an enumerator and listed brief personal details and cause of death (and ‘if by violence, how committed’?).

Administration

As with the 1841 Ireland census, enumerators were recruited mainly from the police, with tax collectors as a reserve choice. Each enumerator worked within an ‘enumeration district’ whose boundaries were based on existing townlands.

Census Commissioners, appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, were again put in charge of the census with the Registrar-General of Marriages acting as Chief Census Commissioner. William Wilde, Assistant Commissioner (and father of Oscar Wilde), was the driving force behind the collection of so much information on sickness and disability.

1851 Census Substitute

As already mentioned, most 1851 census records were destroyed in 1922. However, over a decade before their destruction, these records had been used as part of the application process for the new Old Age Pension (to prove qualifying age). ‘Census Search Forms’ were created plus, sometimes, certified copies of the original census returns. These documents were not destroyed in 1922 and serve as hugely important 1851 Ireland census substitutes. Digitised records of these can be viewed at Findmypast and more information is available at National Archives of Ireland.

Population

The 1851 Ireland census was taken at a pivotal moment in Ireland’s history, at a time when the Potato Famine (1845 – 1852) was drawing to a close. The impact of this devastating famine is illustrated starkly in the comparative population figures for the 1841 and 1851 Ireland censuses; 8,196,597 and 6,574,278 respectively.

Sources

UK, Isle of Man and Channel Islands Census of England and Wales, 1921, Preliminary report including tables of the population enumerated in England and Wales (administrative and parliamentary areas) and in Scotland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands on 19-20th June 1921 BPP 1921 XVI [Cmd.1485] p.62.

Froggatt, P. Sir William Wilde and the 1851 census of Ireland. Medical history vol. 9,4 (1965): 302-27.

Census of Ireland, 1851, The census of Ireland for the year 1851. Part VI, General Report Vol. XXXI, BPP 1856