Census 1841
Cornwall Family History Society Research Database
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CFHS General Help
This general help applies to all data sets.
The CFHS has extended abbreviated forenames such as Wm to William, My to Mary etc. Where alternatives might occur, such as Joseph or Josiah for Jos, we have used other data to confirm the forename.
Until the early 1700s, Parish Register entries were often recorded in Latin, especially forenames. CFHS has transcribed them into English for ease of research.
All date fields have been entered as text. As a consequence, any search result that is sorted by the date field will not sort from 1 Jan to 31 Dec; it will begin with 1 Apr, 1 Aug etc. and end with 30 Sep (see Note). Not all events provided full dates and sometimes events may have been noted in original document incorrectly; e.g. 30 Feb, 31 Apr etc.
The keystroke combination of Ctrl+F will allow you to search any data set for a string of text. For example, enter 1803 to find results for that specific year.
Wild cards *, %, ? and _ may be used in any search. Any of the wildcards acts in place of required characters. The *, ? or % can take the place of multiple characters while the _ can take the place of a single character.
Any field that is computer calculated is shown in red. For example in the 1851 census, Philemon PILL is shown to be 30 years old so his calculated birth year is 1821. Bear in mind, however, that due to the date the census was taken, the actual birth year could be a year earlier than the one calculated. In the example given, the 1851 census was taken on 30 March 1851 so the actual date of birth could be between 31 March 1820 and 30 March 1821. This should help with your search in subsequent census returns and other documents.
Where appropriate, FAQs have been included on each help page.
Errors in any data set may be reported using the appropriate link at the bottom of the page.
Note: Sorting date fields entered as text uses a strict numerical and alphabetical sequence in accordance with the ASCII computer code.
1841 Census Background Information
This census was taken on Sunday 6th June.
Although there were earlier censuses, the 1841 census was the first to be undertaken by the General Register Office and this may explain why it contains less information than later censuses.
Addresses, names and occupations were given but there were no columns for schedule or household numbers, family relationships, marital status or specific birthplaces. A double slash denoted the end of a household and a single slash separated the closer members of the family from others, who might or might not be related. Addresses were limited to a house name if it existed, street names or part of the town or village. Ages were rounded down to the nearest five years so, for example, a 29 year old man would be shown as 25, although the enumerator was instructed to put the exact age “if the person prefers it”. Children up to the age of 15 were shown with exact ages. Birthplaces were restricted to Yes or No, according to whether born in or outside the county of residence, and S, I, and F were given if the person was born in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign parts. Normally only the first forename was enumerated.
Recommended Reading
Making Sense of the Census Revisited, Edward Higgs, Institute of Historical Research, 2005.
The CFHS 1841 Database
The project was undertaken by CFHS members and the Society is very grateful for their work.
All parishes are on the database including those on the county border which were in Devon registration districts: North Petherwin, St Giles in the Heath, East and West Bridgerule, Werrington, North Tamerton, Calstock and Maker.
The physical condition of the 1841 census made the transcription from microfiche and film very difficult but checking procedures in-house have produced a greater accuracy in about 80% of parishes. Checking is ongoing but there will be errors and we welcome any corrections.
In order to create a usable database, we had to make some changes and additions to the original enumerators’ returns:
- We have calculated schedule numbers for each household by using the double slash entered by the enumerator. For technical reasons, this double slash appears at the beginning of the household in our database.
- We have extended abbreviated forenames such as Wm to William, My to Mary etc. Where alternatives might occur, such as Joseph or Josiah for Jos, we have used other data to confirm the forename.
- Surnames have been spelt exactly as they occur.
- Occupations and addresses have been standardised where possible.
- Y, N, S, I, F have been converted so that Y = CON, N = not CON, S = SCOTLAND, I = IRELAND and F = FOREIGN.
- The query mark (?) denotes uncertainty or confusing information; the dash (-) denotes no information given.
CFHS Library also holds some transcriptions of earlier Cornish censuses that are not on our web site:
Antony 1821; Boyton 1821; St Breock c1824; St Hilary 1801; Veryan 1821.
The Census and Family History
It is obvious that information collected by the enumerators was not always accurate. Ages are particularly variable between censuses and this may have been deliberate or accidental. Suspicion and ignorance may account for contradictory information given by the householder who may have been illiterate or unwilling to be entirely truthful.
The enumerator, although usually reasonably educated, may have made errors when copying information.
Always be careful when interpreting census data!
1841 Census Q & A
Q. Why does the age of my ancestor vary on this census compared to later ones?
A. The age of adults in the 1841 census was rounded down to the nearest 5 years.
Census Abbreviations
| Status | Age | Misc |
|---|---|---|
| M = married | M = month | Con = Cornwall |
| W = widowed | W = week | |
| U = unmarried | D = day | |
| – = not given | H = hour | |
| ? = not clear | C = about |
Relationship
| – | Unknown |
| ? | Not clear |
| 2COU | Second Cousin |
| ADOP | Adopted |
| AP | Apprentice |
| ASST | Assistant |
| ATTN | Attendant |
| AUNT | Aunt |
| AUNTIL | Aunt in Law |
| BAIL | Bailiff |
| BASE | Base Child (Illegitimate) |
| BD | Boarder |
| BDCI | Boarder’s Sister |
| BDDA | Boarder’s Daughter |
| BDSO | Boarder’s Son |
| BDWI | Boarder’s Wife |
| BL | Brother in Law |
| BLWI | Brother in Law’s Wife |
| BR | Brother |
| CHAPLAI | Chaplain |
| CI | Sister |
| CL | Sister in Law |
| CLRK | Clerk |
| CLSO | Sister in Law’s Son |
| COMP | Companion |
| COUS | Cousin |
| DA | Daughter |
| DASS | Daughter’s Stepson |
| DL | Daughter in Law |
| FA | Father |
| FD | Foster Daughter |
| FL | Father in Law |
| FRND | Friend |
| FRNDSO | Friend’s Son |
| FS | Foster Son |
| GD | Granddaughter |
| GDIL | Granddaughter in Law |
| GF | Grandfather |
| GGD | Great Granddaughter |
| GGS | Great Grandson |
| GM | Grandmother |
| GNC | Great Niece |
| GNP | Great Nephew |
| GOVR | Governess |
| GS | Grandson |
| GSIL | Grandson in Law |
| HALFBR | Half Brother |
| HD | Head |
| HIND | Hind |
| HK | Housekeeper |
| HKDA | Housekeeper’s Daughter |
| HKHU | Housekeeper’s Husband |
| HKSO | Housekeeper’s Son |
| HUSB | Husband |
| IM | Inmate |
| JOUR | Journeyman |
| JTHD | Joint Head |
| LAD | Lad |
| LG | Lodger |
| LGDA | Lodger’s Daughter |
| LGGD | Lodger’s Granddaughter |
| LGGS | Lodger’s Grandson |
| LGSO | Lodger’s Son |
| LGWI | Lodger’s Wife |
| MATR | Matron |
| ML | Mother in Law |
| MO | Mother |
| NC | Niece |
| NCDA | Niece’s Daughter |
| NCIL | Niece in Law |
| NCO | Non Commissioned Officer |
| NCSO | Niece’s Son |
| NP | Nephew |
| NPDA | Nephew’s Daughter |
| NPIL | Nephew in Law |
| NPSO | Nephew’s Son |
| NPWI | Nephew’s Wife |
| NUN | Nun |
| NURS | Nurse |
| OFF | Officer |
| ORPH | Orphan |
| PATI | Patient |
| PAUP | Pauper |
| PRIS | Prisoner |
| PT | Partner |
| PUPL | Pupil |
| REL | Relation |
| SB | Step Brother |
| SC | Step Sister |
| SCH | Scholar |
| SD | Step Daughter |
| SF | Step Father |
| SGD | Step Granddaughter |
| SGM | Step Grandmother |
| SGS | Step Grandson |
| SL | Son in Law |
| SLDA | Son in Law’s Daughter |
| SLDR | Soldier |
| SLSO | Son in Law’s Son |
| SLWI | Son in Law’s Wife |
| SM | Step Mother |
| SO | Son |
| SS | Step Son |
| SSWI | Step Son’s Wife |
| STEW | Steward |
| STUD | Student |
| SV | Servant |
| SVCI | Servant’s Sister |
| SVDA | Servant’s Daughter |
| SVSO | Servant’s Son |
| SVWI | Servant’s Wife |
| TEAC | Teacher |
| TRAV | Traveller |
| UNCL | Uncle |
| UNCLIL | Uncle in Law |
| VAGR | Vagrant |
| VR | Visitor |
| VRDA | Visitor’s Daughter |
| VRSO | Visitor’s Son |
| VRSV | Visitor’s Servant |
| VRWI | Visitor’s Wife |
| WARD | Ward |
| WI | Wife |
| WIGM | Wife’s Grandmother |
| WINC | Wife’s Niece |
| WORK | Workman |
