Community, Cultural Affairs and LabourAbout the 1841 Census
The increase was so rapid that the government had lost track of just how many people there were in the province. Earlier census were of little assistance. The last had been held in 1833 but even as little as eight years later the Island population had boomed. As important as the people were the other things that were included in the "statistical survey". The degree to which the Island was producing crops and livestock, the number of schoolhouses and grist mills and distilleries, the number of deaf, blind and insane. All of these were seen as important for planning for the community. There was not universal agreement about the census. Prince Edward Island was in the middle of periodic concern about the land tenure system which saw almost all of the land owned by large landlords and leased rather than sold to the tenants. This made the colony different from others in North America where the usual pattern was freehold tenure with farmers owning rather then renting their land. The legislation was held up while the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council debated what should be asked. The upper house wanted more questions which would show how landowners were receiving little return on their investment. The result was a compromise. The resulting census included questions about the repayment of passage money advanced to tenants and not repaid. In the early summer of 1841 the census takers traveled the Island counting people, sheep and potatoes among other things. They were paid 10 shillings per hundred persons and 20 shillings per township for traveling expenses. Most earned less than 20 pounds for their efforts. The statistical results were published as an appendix to the Journals of the House of Assembly in 1842 and the original books were relegated to attic storage. Over the years, because of moves and carelessness many volumes were lost. The surviving books are re-published here in a searchable form. If you wish to examine the census on microfilm, copies are available at the Public Archives and Records Office and the University of Prince Edward Island. Microfilm may also be ordered through inter-institutional loan from the National Archives of Canada. The reel numbers for the film are as follows:
Prince Edward Island in 1841 The 1841 census sometimes contained extensive notes written by the census taker about the area his book covered. These provide a fascinating window on the colony. The Importance of the 1841 Census Although there were earlier censuses, none have survived except for the abstracted total information. The 1841 census was the first since 1798 which gave the names of the individuals and the information associated with every family. Even the 1841 census is flawed because a large proportion of the census books were lost over the years. The volume for Charlottetown which contained almost 4,000 persons is one of those missing. The blue areas of the map below indicate the populated areas covered by the census database. Click a blue-shaded lot or choose from the drop-down list to view the associated notes transcribed from the original documents. | ||||||||||||
The colony of Prince Edward Island grew swiftly through the first half of the nineteenth century. It was a time when emigrants poured out of the British Isles. Many Scots came because of the foreclosure of their ancient rights on the land. Irish made the perilous crossing of the North Atlantic owing to worsening economic conditions and in the late 1840s because of famine. The English and Welsh emigration, though not as dramatic, was steady and brought many new farmers, shipbuilders and merchants.