Becoming a census enumerator 1860's (General)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Monday, October 06, 2008, 22:17 (5900 days ago) @ unknown

Census background

The census returns for 1841 were the first to be kept and, as far as the general public is concerned, the information is released by the Public Record Office after a hundred years. For example, the public were given access to the 1891 census returns on 1 January 1992.

The country was sub divided in to districts etc and small areas that the Enumerator could cover in a day, on foot I suspect.

The census was usually taken at the end of March/ beginning of April. Enumeration forms were distributed to all households a couple of days before census night and the complete forms were collected the next day. The 'Enumerators' also wrote down the details for the illiterate and tried to check that the entries were correct.

Unfortunately the Victorian censuses were undertaken at a time when up to half the adult population were illiterate or semi-illiterate. Many householders would, therefore, have found it difficult to read and interpret the instructions, and this would have led them to give inaccurate and incomplete information. moreover, it seems likely that, because of poor spelling and poor presentation, enumerators would have found it difficult to read some of their census schedules. This, in turn, would have led to transcription errors in the Census Enumerators Books (CEB's)

All responses were to reflect the individual's status as that night. People who were travelling or living abroad were enumerated at the location where they spent the night on census night. Other special "groups" of people included the inmates of institutions, the crews of vessels afloat, the army, itinerants and travellers, and night workers.

All of the details from the individual forms were later sorted and copied into CEBs, which are are the records that survive, these have been filmed, and are available on various CD's and via Ancestry.

So what about the Enumerators ?

Its clear then that the Enumerator skills needed would include being able to read and write, able bodied and I suspect possess common sense and a degree of diplomacy. Schoolmasters, Public officials, Clergy would be obvious candidates.

I think that the early Enumerators were employed by the Overseers of the Poor - so being known or connected with what was local government would, I suspect, help

Just as today there must have been great suspicion of "the Government" gathering information - what was it going to do with it - raise taxes, relocate people ??

This also was an age without computers and instant access to databases etc, so it was easy to move a short distance and change your identity in an attempt to purge your past - be it crime or in some cases a spouse (!)

100 + years on this just adds to the fun of tracking back our ancestors.

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>