Study 4978 Cornwall OnLine Census Project, 1891 This document was supplied by the depositor and has been modified by AHDS History Introduction THIS STUDY contains our [Cornwall Online Census Project] transcript of the 1891 census returns for Cornwall. It has been transcribed, checked and validated by the volunteers of the Cornwall Online Census Project, the Cornish arm of the Free Census project. The original records are held by The National Archives and this transcription is done with their permission. Image copies of the original returns can be viewed on film, fiche or CDROM from commercial suppliers and at many research facilities around the world. This study contains a full transcription of the 1891 census returns for Cornwall—a snapshot of the people and places of Cornwall on the night of April 5th, 1891. The file names are the PRO piece number code (without punctuation). About UK Census Returns About Free Census (FreeCEN) was started early in 2000 with a pilot project for the 1891 census returns for Devon. The aim of Free Census is to transcribe all the UK 19th century census returns. It is part of FreeUKGEN and is a sister project to FreeBMD and FreeREG. The intention is that all three of the UK primary sources for the family historian will be online and “free to view.” Six months after the Devon project started, the Cornwall 1891 commenced. Most English and Welsh counties are now covered for the 1891, with the Scottish projects concentrating on the 1841. There are several English 1861 projects, using commercially produced discs and two English 1841 projects, including Cornwall. Free Census is run by a small executive committee and a group of more than 70 organisers, each of who has agreed to recruit and supervise a team of volunteers to transcribe, check and validate a county or part of a county. Free Census operates a “free-to-view” online database that, in early 2004, held over two and a half million records. About the Cornwall Online Census Project The Cornwall Online Census Project started with the 1891 census in the summer of 2000, working from LDS and PRO (National Archive) fiche. About a year later we started the 1841 census, working from 35mm films also lent to us by the LDS. In the winter of 2003 we started the 1861 census and we have also started work on the 1851 census using commercial discs in addition to the LDS and PRO films. Running the project are Kay Hinnrichsen (in Australia) and Michael McCormick (in Cornwall). More than 60 people have worked on the project as transcribers and checkers as listed below. Technical and other support to the COCP has been provided by Rick Parsons and Bill O‘Reilly in the UK Volunteers are recruited via the Family History mailing lists on the Internet or the project’s web site. They are sent a set of microfiche (2–7000 records) and they transcribe the returns using a programme supplied by Free Census or a special spreadsheet form. Their output is sent, with the microfiche, to a checker. The checker runs each line of data against the microfiche pages and identifies and corrects any errors. The output and the fiche then return to the validator who runs the data through a third piece of specially written software and hopefully solves any outstanding queries. Finally, the data file is run through another software package and the data is cleaned up and uploaded to the online database. It is also sent to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City and uploaded onto the COCP‘s own web site. All transfer of data is done by email or other electronic systems. About UK Census Returns The Industrial Revolution, the growth in the population and the breakdown of the old poor laws under demographic pressures led to an outburst of social and political reform in the early part of the 19th century. It became a matter of importance to know how many people there were in the British Isles, where they lived and how they earned a living. The 1800 Census Act ordered a head count of the population every ten years from 1801. The information gained from the early census counts was basic and gave only a rough guide to the numbers of men, women and children and their employment or otherwise. From 1841 the census districts were based on the Poor Law Unions. The information became more detailed and the census was taken household by household listing the occupants on a specific day in March or April (June in 1841) of the first year of the decade. This new type of census was treated with suspicion and lies were often told to the enumerators for fear of what the authorities might do to unregistered and ‘illegal’ residents. Forms (schedules) were distributed and then collected by ‘Enumerators’ who also wrote down the details for the illiterate and tried to check that the entries were correct. The enumerators filled in the entries in large returns which are what survive. Coverage 1891 This study covers all of the Cornwall registration districts, however this does not entirely match up with the county boundary. Near the border with Devon some parishes are the wrong side of the boundary. As a consequence there are the following discrepancies. Devon parishes included in the Cornwall registration districts and hence included on this disk. • North Petherwin RG12/1802 • Broadwoodwidger RG12/1803 • Werrington RG12/1803 • Lifton RG12/1803 • Bratton Clovelly (detached part) RG12/1803 • Virginstow RG12/1803 • St. Giles in the Heath RG12/1803 • Northcott Hamlet, part of Boyton RG12/1803 Cornwall parishes included in the Devon regsitration districts and hence missing from this disk. • North Tamerton Registration district Holsworthy, Sub-district Clawton RG12/1795 ED 3–4 • Calstock registration district Tavistock, Sub-district Calstock RG12/1748 ED 5–10 Parishes that at some time have been in Cornwall but were not in 1891 • Bridgerule (West) Registration district Holsworthy, Sub-district Clawton RG12/1795 ED 6 • St. Budeaux Registration district Plympton St. Mary, Sub-district Plympton RG12/1723 ED 15–17 and RG12/1724 Parishes that at some time have been in Devon but were not in 1891 • Tything of Saultershome part of Maker RG12/1806 Other parishes may have been partly in Devon and partly in Cornwall at some time. 1891 Enumerator’s Instructions These are the instructions to enumerators contained at the start of every booklet. They are presented here to illustrate what the census should contain, which may help you interpret what you see. It is true that by no means all enumerators followed these instructions! General Instructions To The Enumerator Immediately after the completion of the Enumeration:— (1). Arrange and number the Householders’ Schedules and other Schedules in such order that all those relating to one Civil Parish, one Sanitary District, one Ecclesiastical Parish, or other local sub-division, follow each other. (2). COPY THE SCHEDULES VERY LEGIBLY IN INK into this Enumeration Book, in accordance with the following directions:— 1. Insert first, in the spaces at the top of the page, the name of the Civil Parish, Municipal Borough, Ward of Municipal Borough, Urban Sanitary District, Town or Village, or Hamlet, Rural Sanitary District, Parliamentary Borough or Division, and Ecclesiastical Parish or District in which the houses referred to on that page are situated. No Schedule is to be entered on a page unless if belongs to each of the local sub divisions named in the Heading. See also Instruction No. 10. 2. In the first column, write the No of the Schedule you are about to copy, commencing with No 1, in the second column the name of the Road, Street, Square, &c, in which the house is situated, and the No. of the house, or any distinctive name by which it is known; then insert in the third column the figure 1 for an Inhabited House, and copy from the Schedule into the other columns all the particulars concerning the persons returned therein, without any omission, or any abbreviation except those authorised in the Instruction at the foot of this page, taking especial care to enter the ages of MALES and FEMALES in their PROPER COLUMNS. Enter in the same manner the contents of all the other Schedules, in strict numerical order. 3. Under the name of the last entered person in each house draw a strong DOUBLE line, as in the example on the opposite page, to separate the inmates from those of the house next following; and where there is more than one occupier in the same house, draw a single line to distinguish the separate families, as in the example. [NOTE:— The occupier of a separate tenement, although living alone without wife or family, must be treated as a separate family.] 4. If you have enumerated any persons in Canal Boats or Barges, enter the Schedules for Vessels in the same manner as the Householders’ Schedules, stating in col. 3 the locality in which the boats, &c, were enumerated. 5. If you have obtained information and noted it in your Memorandum Book, respecting persons not dwelling in houses but in Barns, Sheds, Caravans, &c., the particulars should be entered under the proper Road, Lane, or other locality, in making up the totals at the foot of that page, however, the Barns, Sheds, &c., must not be counted as Houses. 6. Where you have to insert an uninhabited house, or a house building, do this by writing in the fourth column “1 U,” or “1 B,” on a distinct line, taking care to omit none which are noted in your Memorandum Book.