The next Australian Census will take place on the night of 9 August 2016. The Australian Bureau of Statistics website contains the following statement.
"The Australian Bureau of Statistics is preparing to count close to 10 million dwellings and approximately 24 million people in Australia on Census night.
The 2016 Census will be Australia’s first Census where more than two thirds of Australia’s population (more than 15 million people) are expected to complete the Census online in August 2016.
New delivery and collection procedures will make it easier to complete the Census online. In the lead up to 9 August, households will receive a letter from the ABS, addressed ‘To the Resident’, including a unique login and instructions on how to complete the Census online.
Completing the Census online will be fast, easy, secure, environmentally friendly, and help to reduce the cost of the Census to the community.
Paper forms can be requested where needed and must be completed and returned in the Reply Paid envelope provided without delay.
The ABS needs the support of everyone in Australia on 9 August next year to make the Census a success. Everyone in Australia is encouraged to participate and take advantage of the fast, easy and secure online option."
Historically the Australian Censuses have not been kept, but rather destroyed after the statistical data has been extracted, a fact which causes disappointment for all Australian family history researchers. So for all the future genealogists out there, when you fill out your census records on paper or digitally, please look for the question which asks if you “want this record kept for historical purposes” and tick YES.
Showing posts with label Census. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Census. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 27 - Census
Shauna has chosen Census Records for Week 27, and I must confess I do love England's wealth of census records, and have often railed against their loss in Australia.
In her blog Shauna says "I am sure all of us have benefited from being able to search the digitised copies of the UK census for ourselves. We can simply look up the indexed records in Ancestry or Findmypast and go straight to the correct image. But and there is always a but, not everything is straightforward or we don’t have instant access to subscription databases." She adds that "Poor handwriting and indexing errors are an issue although we can search on given names and perhaps discover the surname that way."
I have spent quite a bit of time searching various branches of my family, and it is always fascinating to follow a family or individual through several censuses - children are born, grow up and leave home, a spouse might die and the survivor remarry, the family might move, and so on. I also have a few gaps in the census records for my family - where were they on census night?? Hiding? Abroad? Or is the handwriting so illegible or the name so misspelt that thus far I simply can't track them down?
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One family I have followed through the census is my Hines branch of the family tree. In the 1841 census (right) parents James and Susan are alive and children John, Samuel, Albert and Hannah are listed with them. Eldest daughter Susannah is not home on census night and so not listed here.
By the time of the next census in 1851, circumstances have changed for the family. Both parents have died, and the five siblings have been split up. The two eldest children, Susannah and John, now aged 18 and 16, are living with their maternal grandparents and are listed below as house servant and farm servant respectively.
Middle child Samuel, age 14, has been found a home with relatives, and is listed as a lodger in the house of James Prentice. His maternal grandmother Susannah's maiden name was Prentice (she is the Susannah Woollard listed above, who took in the two eldest children), and James Prentice is her nephew.
The two youngest children, Albert, now age 12 and Hannah, age 10, have been less fortunate. Apparently there were no relatives willing and able to take these youngest children, and they are listed in the census as paupers in the Cosford Union Workhouse.
Once again, thanks to Shauna for her 52 week challenge - she really makes me go back to my research and have a think. The read Shauna's full blog on Census Records, please click here.
In her blog Shauna says "I am sure all of us have benefited from being able to search the digitised copies of the UK census for ourselves. We can simply look up the indexed records in Ancestry or Findmypast and go straight to the correct image. But and there is always a but, not everything is straightforward or we don’t have instant access to subscription databases." She adds that "Poor handwriting and indexing errors are an issue although we can search on given names and perhaps discover the surname that way."
I have spent quite a bit of time searching various branches of my family, and it is always fascinating to follow a family or individual through several censuses - children are born, grow up and leave home, a spouse might die and the survivor remarry, the family might move, and so on. I also have a few gaps in the census records for my family - where were they on census night?? Hiding? Abroad? Or is the handwriting so illegible or the name so misspelt that thus far I simply can't track them down?
One family I have followed through the census is my Hines branch of the family tree. In the 1841 census (right) parents James and Susan are alive and children John, Samuel, Albert and Hannah are listed with them. Eldest daughter Susannah is not home on census night and so not listed here.By the time of the next census in 1851, circumstances have changed for the family. Both parents have died, and the five siblings have been split up. The two eldest children, Susannah and John, now aged 18 and 16, are living with their maternal grandparents and are listed below as house servant and farm servant respectively.
Middle child Samuel, age 14, has been found a home with relatives, and is listed as a lodger in the house of James Prentice. His maternal grandmother Susannah's maiden name was Prentice (she is the Susannah Woollard listed above, who took in the two eldest children), and James Prentice is her nephew.
The two youngest children, Albert, now age 12 and Hannah, age 10, have been less fortunate. Apparently there were no relatives willing and able to take these youngest children, and they are listed in the census as paupers in the Cosford Union Workhouse.
Once again, thanks to Shauna for her 52 week challenge - she really makes me go back to my research and have a think. The read Shauna's full blog on Census Records, please click here.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Integrated Census Microdata
"The Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM) project was a three-year programme which has produced a standardised, integrated dataset of most of the censuses of Great Britain for the period 1851 to 1911.
By making available to academic researchers the detailed information about everyone resident in this country collected at each decennial census from 1851 to 1911, the I-CeM project has transformed the research landscape for work in the economic, social, and demographic history of this country during a period of profound change in the wake of the industrial revolution."
This statement comes from the main I-CeM introduction at the University of Essex. The project allows users to obtain statistical information from the censuses from England and Wales from 1851-1861 and 1881-1911, and Scotland from 1851-1901 (no, I don't know why England and Wales are missing the 1871 census). The project is outlined at http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/research/icem/default.htm whilst the database itself is accessible at http://icem.data-archive.ac.uk/#step1. There is also a detailed user guide is available at http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/research/ICeM/documents/icem_guide.pdf
Thanks to Chris Paton for bringing this new database to light on his British Genes blog.
By making available to academic researchers the detailed information about everyone resident in this country collected at each decennial census from 1851 to 1911, the I-CeM project has transformed the research landscape for work in the economic, social, and demographic history of this country during a period of profound change in the wake of the industrial revolution."
This statement comes from the main I-CeM introduction at the University of Essex. The project allows users to obtain statistical information from the censuses from England and Wales from 1851-1861 and 1881-1911, and Scotland from 1851-1901 (no, I don't know why England and Wales are missing the 1871 census). The project is outlined at http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/research/icem/default.htm whilst the database itself is accessible at http://icem.data-archive.ac.uk/#step1. There is also a detailed user guide is available at http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/research/ICeM/documents/icem_guide.pdf
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
1939 National Identity Register
FindMyPast and the National Archives have announced a joint project to put online the 1939 National Identity Register.
This was basically a mini-census that was taken on the night of Friday 29 September 1939 (at the start of World War II). The British Government conducted the survey because it wanted updated statistics on the population so that identity cards could be issued. It was also required in case a draft was needed, in case of mobilisation and mass evacuation of the general population and in case rationing was required (which was introduced a few months later in January 1940). For genealogists, the 1939 National Identity Register makes up for the regularly-scheduled 1941 census, which did not take place due to the war.
The details recorded in the 1939 National Identity Register include name, residence, sex, date of birth, marital status, occupation and whether the person was a member of the armed forces or reserves. The process for the enumeration worked as follows. On the night of Friday 29 September 1939, some 65,000 enumerators delivered forms to each household. Each household was responsible for filling out their own form. Two days later on the Sunday and Monday, the enumerators returned to collect the forms. The enumerators checked the forms and (if there were no problems) issued a complete identity card on the spot to each member of the household.
There was a strong incentive for everyone to register correctly. Other than societal pressure given that war had just broken out, it was widely broadcast that anyone who “neglected” to register would not be eligible in the future for ration books. The 1939 register covers some 40 million individuals. Given the absence of a 1931 census (the records were destroyed in a fire in December 1942) and a 1941 census (never taken due to the war), this record set will be very valuable to family historians. No date has been given as to when the records will be available online.
If you want to be kept informed about the project, you can register at www.1939register.co.uk One thing to note is that due to privacy issues, information on individuals still alive today will not be included in the database.
Thanks to Genealogy in Time for highlighting this news.
This was basically a mini-census that was taken on the night of Friday 29 September 1939 (at the start of World War II). The British Government conducted the survey because it wanted updated statistics on the population so that identity cards could be issued. It was also required in case a draft was needed, in case of mobilisation and mass evacuation of the general population and in case rationing was required (which was introduced a few months later in January 1940). For genealogists, the 1939 National Identity Register makes up for the regularly-scheduled 1941 census, which did not take place due to the war.
The details recorded in the 1939 National Identity Register include name, residence, sex, date of birth, marital status, occupation and whether the person was a member of the armed forces or reserves. The process for the enumeration worked as follows. On the night of Friday 29 September 1939, some 65,000 enumerators delivered forms to each household. Each household was responsible for filling out their own form. Two days later on the Sunday and Monday, the enumerators returned to collect the forms. The enumerators checked the forms and (if there were no problems) issued a complete identity card on the spot to each member of the household.
There was a strong incentive for everyone to register correctly. Other than societal pressure given that war had just broken out, it was widely broadcast that anyone who “neglected” to register would not be eligible in the future for ration books. The 1939 register covers some 40 million individuals. Given the absence of a 1931 census (the records were destroyed in a fire in December 1942) and a 1941 census (never taken due to the war), this record set will be very valuable to family historians. No date has been given as to when the records will be available online.
If you want to be kept informed about the project, you can register at www.1939register.co.uk One thing to note is that due to privacy issues, information on individuals still alive today will not be included in the database.
Thanks to Genealogy in Time for highlighting this news.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
British Census Dates
The 1841 Census was the fifth decennial census of the population of Britain,
however it was the first useful census to genealogists interested in their
English heritage, as it was the first time that names of individuals within each
household were recorded, along with their ages, occupations and places of birth.
Only census data up to 1911 is available for public viewing
Currently published census dates are :
1841 - Sunday 6 June
1851 - Sunday 30 March
1861 - Sunday 7 April
1871 - Sunday 2 April
1881 - Sunday 3 April
1891 - Sunday 5 April
1901 - Sunday 31 March
1911 - Sunday 2 April
The 1921 census was taken on Sunday 19 June, and is due to be published on 1 January 2022.
Currently published census dates are :
1841 - Sunday 6 June
1851 - Sunday 30 March
1861 - Sunday 7 April
1871 - Sunday 2 April
1881 - Sunday 3 April
1891 - Sunday 5 April
1901 - Sunday 31 March
1911 - Sunday 2 April
The 1921 census was taken on Sunday 19 June, and is due to be published on 1 January 2022.
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