Cornwall Online Census Project
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Farm children, a girl and three boys,
one not yet breeched
1851 Enumerator's Instructions
These are the instructions to enumerators contained at the
start of every booklet (thanks to Michelle Jeffery for sending
these). 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!
DIRECTIONS
Respecting the manner in which Entries may be made in this
Book
The process of entering the Householder’s Schedules, in
this Book, should be as follows:-
The Enumerator should first insert, in the spaces at the top
of the page, the name of the Parish, Quoad Sacra Parish,
City or Burgh, Town or Village, to which the contents of that
page will apply, drawing his pen through all the headings which
are inappropriate.
He should then, in the first column write the No. of the
Schedule he is about to copy, and in the second column the name
of the Street, Square, &c. where the house is situate, and
the No. of the house, if it has a No., or, if the house be
situate in the country, any distinctive Name by which it may be
known.
He should then copy from the Schedule into the other columns,
all the other particulars concerning the members of the family
(making use if he please of any of the contractions authorized by
his Instructions;) and proceed to deal in the same manner with
the next Schedule.
Under the last name in any house he should draw a line
across the page as far as the fifth column. Where there is more
than one Occupier in the same house, he should draw a similar
line under the last name of the family of each Occupier ; making
the line, however, in this case, commence a little on the left
hand side of the third column, as in the example on page vi. By
the term “House,” must be understood “a
distinct building separated from other buildings by
party-walls.” Flats, therefore, must not be entered
as houses.
Where he has to insert an uninhabited house, or a house
building, this may be done, as in the example, by writing in the
second column on the line under the last name of the last house
inserted, “One house uninhabited,” “Three
houses building,” as the case may be ; drawing a line
underneath, as in the example.
At the bottom of each page, on the line for that purpose, he
must enter the total number of HOUSES in that page,
separating those inhabited from those uninhabited
or building. If the statement regarding any inhabited
house is continued from one page to another, that house must be
reckoned in the total of the page on which the first name
is entered. He must also enter on the same line the total number
of males and of females included in that page.
When he has completely entered all the Schedules belonging to
any one Parish or Quoad Sacra Parish, he should
make no more entries on the LEAF on which the last name is
written, but should write across the page, “End of the
Parish [or Quoad Sacra Parish] of ———
;” beginning the entry of the next Schedule on the next
subsequent LEAF of his book. The same course must be adopted with
respect to any isolated or detached portion of a distant Parish;
which portion, for the sake of convenience, may have been
included in his district. When he has entered all the Schedules
belonging to any Burgh, Village, &c., he should
make no more entries on that PAGE, but write underneath the line
after the last name, “End of the Burgh, [or Village,
&c.] of ——— ;” making his next entry
on the first line of the following PAGE.
In this way he will proceed until all his Householders’
Schedules are correctly copied into his Book ; and he must then
make up the statement of totals, at page ii of this Book, in the
Form there specified. He must also, on page iii, make up the
summaries there mentioned, in the form and according to the
instructions there given.
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