BACKGROUND to 1841 CENSUS
The 1841 Census was the first for which the Government decided it needed
more than just the numbers of people in the various age groups. Reaction
was sharp and unfavourable, on theological grounds from those who believed
that "numbering the people" was blasphemous, and on more practical grounds
from a suspicion that the object was to extract more taxes, force a
resettlement of poor people or their emigration, or just plain getting
to know too much about the private individual. The amount of information
to be collected was therefore restricted, and instead of sending strangers
from London, local residents were appointed as "enumerators". The idea was
partly that they would get more cooperation, partly that they would know
more of what was required anyway, so false information would be detected
at source.
Households are normally set out in "natural order" with father first, then
mother and the children, then other relatives, servants, employees, lodgers
and visitors - but no relationships are stated, so the searcher may be
mislead by the unusual combinations, of brother and sister, nieces and
nephews etc. (Extract from "The Censuses 1841-1881" by Eve McLaughlin)
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