MEMORY MONDAY
By now, your 2021 Census information pack will have landed on your door mat, for completion on 21st March. The information we provide allows local authorities and other organisations, such as charities, to plan for the services we all need, including healthcare, transport and education.
Old censuses – still relevant!
Many of you will be aware that the censuses from 1841-1911 are still available for local and family historians to use in research – and what invaluable resources they are! They contain fascinating information for anyone investigating changing communities and provide a once-a-decade “snapshot” of individuals and families. In fact, for anyone interested in family history, census returns are one of the first ports of call before consulting information on births, marriages and deaths, found in parish records.
History of the national census
The first decennial census for the whole of Britain (except Ireland) was taken in 1801 with the aim of understanding the population of the country both in number and distribution, as well as ascertaining how many men might be eligible to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. It has continued to be taken every 10 years, apart from in 1941, during World War II.
The first four censuses (1801-1831) were simple head counts, with little personal information. Most of these records were destroyed once the information had been extracted from them. The 1841 census contains more limited information than its successors. It was taken on 6th June 1841, but afterwards it became apparent that many itinerant harvest workers, who slept rough at that time of the year, as well as other night workers, had not been recorded. So, it was decided in future that the census would be held on a Sunday at the beginning of spring, as it is to this day. The information on the census returns was collected by an enumerator who would call at each household and gather information about all those who lived together; their names, dates and places of birth, occupations, marital status and their relationship to the head of the household. This meant that anyone working or lodging in the household of another family was not recorded within their own family unit.
International Women’s Day 8th March
As today is International Women’s Day, spare a thought for the women who appear in the censuses of years gone by. Many working women, particularly those in the working classes – most of whom were economically active – did not have an entry in the “occupation” column. Many worked at home as laundresses, dressmakers or perhaps in agricultural work. They contributed to the family and local economy but are largely “invisible” on census returns. For some reason, their work was not recorded.
However, in 1911, suffragettes, frustrated at lack of progress in their cause, used the census to make a political stand. Some tried to confuse officials by hiding; some “spoilt” the census return itself. Examples of how the 1911 census was used in this way can be found here:
Westwood Heath-born suffragette, Cecily Neale, does not appear in the 1911 census, but her father made a protest on her behalf. She was staying with him in Birmingham at the time of the census; instead of adding her to the form, he simply wrote, “Daughter a suffragette” across the page. Surely this was a statement of his support for Cecily and this important cause.
The last census?
We could be taking part in history ourselves in 2021, as it is thought that this census might be the last. In my view, this is a shame. I wonder if family historians in 100 years’ time will eagerly await the release of the 2021 census and the unique picture it paints of life in the early 21st century? For more on the census, you might like to read the reflections of Professor Sarah Richardson of the University of Warwick, whose blog can be found here:
Watch out for more posts over the weekend of 20th & 21st March, looking at what censuses can tell us about former residents of Westwood Heath.
Images:
1. Census Letter 2021
2. Cecily Lucas (nee Neale), Warwickshire teacher and suffragette, with her husband and daughter in the 1920s.
3. The 1911 census return completed by Cecily's father, Edwin.