Every 10 years the UK carries out a head count. As well as trying to find out the names and addresses of every single person in the country, the census asks questions about age, ethnic background, nationality, marital status and type of housing, etc. The purpose of the census is to give the government a picture of the people it serves so it can adjust taxes, benefits and services like health, to best suit the changing needs of the population.
What it also provides is an invaluable resource for genealogists and those interested in family history. At Ancestry.co.uk, you can search records from 1841 - when the modern census began - to 1901 - the most recent census that has been made available to the public by the government. This means you can track down any relative living in England, Wales, Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands between those dates, as long as you have a little information to begin with.
Getting started
Two or three of the following - name, gender, birth year, county of residence, father's, mother's or spouse's name - will give you a good start. Begin with the relatives closest to you, who were counted in the 1901 survey, like grandparents and great-grandparents. Once you've located their records, it's easy to step back through the generations. The census entry will include details of other people in the household, including their position in the household, the parish they lived in, their place of birth, gender, marital status and occupation. You can take the facts, step back to earlier censuses and trace how your family changed over the decades. It's a fascinating insight.
For a flavour of what can be discovered in www.ancestry.co.uk's online census records, we researched an MP and porcelain manufacturer called William Taylor Copeland who worked in Stoke-on-Trent, had a business address in London, and exhibited his wares at the 1851 Great Exhibition. The 1861 to 1891 censuses show that Copeland had established a successful family business that flourished after his death in 1868, as his sons continued in the pottery business. William was clearly an important person, because he can be found living in the Manor House in Bushey on the 1861 census, with six servants.
The most famous survey of England's population, the Domesday Book, was compiled in 1086. It came into being for entirely practical reasons - William the Conqueror wanted to collect taxes from his subjects. It recorded who owned what in terms of land and livestock, and what it was worth. Taxes due were calculated from this value.
At the end of the 18th century the idea of a comprehensive census was revived, and an Act of Parliament, passed in 1800, paved the way for 1801's census. It was in response to the Napoleonic Wars: John Rickman, a government official, championed the idea and managed the first four censuses, which recorded ages to the nearest five years and established how many men were fit to fight. After Rickman's death, the 1841 survey was the first to record the names of all individuals in a household or institution, and continues to this day.
Search the 1881 census for free for England,Wales , Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
