Why do we use a census with our genealogy research? A census record gives us a snapshot of a person and oftentimes that person's family and community at a specific point in time and place. Doing census research helps us place that person, family, or community and we can learn something about our ancestors that we might not have known before.
Newfoundland had a number of censuses (simply the government's opportunity to count heads for any number of reasons) and many of them are available for review. Where can we find them and how do we use them? FamilySearch.org has the 1935 and 1945 Newfoundland censuses digitized, indexed, and available to search by surname, by full name, and by residence. Alternatively we can browse the census records to view all the members of a community. The original records are housed at the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Where do we look at FamilySearch and what will we find in the 1935 and 1945 Newfoundland Census?
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| Just two of the record sets for Newfoundland - the 1935 and 1945 Newfoundland Census at FamilySearch.org (see links below) [click to enlarge] |
Name of person
Residence
Description of Home Age (owned or rented, value or rent, number of rooms, does family have a radio)
Relationship to head of household
Gender
Marital Status
Age at last birthday
Birth Place
Birth Place of Father
Birth Place of Mother
Year of Immigration to Newfoundland
Year of Naturalization
Nationality
Religion
Education (can read and write, number of months at school since September 1, 1934)
Occupation
Industry
Total Earnings since June 1, 1934
How to cite the 1935 Newfoundland Census FamilySearch Collection
"Newfoundland Census, 1935." Database with Images. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org: 14 June 2016. Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Name of head of household
Description of home (owned or rented, value or rent, number of rooms)
Name of each person in household
Relationship to head of household
Gender
Marital Status
Age
Birth Place
Place of Residence in 1935
Nationality
Racial Origin
Social Condition
Religion
Current Occupation
Industry
Occupation in 1935
Total Earnings
How to cite the 1945 Newfoundland Census FamilySearch Collection
"Newfoundland Census, 1945." Database with Images. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org: 14 June 2016. Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Once you have found any of your people in the 1935 and 1945 census, you now can work forward with other records (deeds, voter lists, city or telephone directories, marriage records, birth and baptism records, death and burial records) and work backward (marriage records, birth and baptism records, death and burial records). Be sure to check on neighbors in the community - families tended to live in the same or a close by community.
Be sure to check the census transcriptions available at Newfoundland's Grand Banks website - they have a wealth of census transcriptions as shown below.
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| 27 Census Transcriptions at Newfoundland's Grand Banks website [click to enlarge] |
What a treat to have such recent census records - why not visit both FamilySearch and Newfoundland's Grand Banks today and get started with that research!
I do enjoy census records and so wish they had thought to ask maiden names of the women... oh it would have made my life so much easier!!! I have been saving the past several decades of filling them out. Maybe oneday one of my granddaughters will enjoy discovering them. I'm over at: https://everyonehasafamilystorytotell.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteSorry that it took me so long to reply - yes I love census records and agree, a maiden name would be a great improvement. How smart you are to keep your copies of censuses, the next family historian in your family will be thrilled with the discovery!
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