Census records were first recorded in 1801 and have been recorded every ten years since with the exception of 1941 due to World War Two. Very few of the early census records from 1801 to 1831 have survived.
The 1841 census was the first to list the names of every individual living at the same address on the night of the census, which makes it the earliest useful census for researching genealogy. In the 1841 census only, the ages of the adults were rounded up to the nearest five years.
In 1851 the place of birth was added to the census, which is incredibly useful for genealogy researchers. Where a family has moved around a lot, the census records can help identify where all the children were born.
In 1861 the number of rooms with one or more windows was included which gives us a glimpse of the family’s economic status. In cities and towns, the more rooms with windows a family had, the better off they were financially.
The 1881 census recorded the number of Gaelic speakers and the 1911 census revealed how long a couple had been married, how many children had been born alive and how many were still living. The 1911 census also identified which industry or service sector that people of working age were connected with.
The census records do have a number of pitfalls you should be aware of.
• The entry for a household recorded everyone who stayed at an address on the night of the census, so you may find that an individual is not where you expected them to be. They might have been working away from home, staying with relatives, be in hospital or prison.
• ‘Live-in’ servants were recorded living at their employer’s home.
• Ages can be unreliable. The 1841 census was the only one to round up the ages of adults to the nearest five, however people sometimes lied about their age when completing the census forms.
• If the enumerator was completing the form on behalf of illegitimate people, he recorded what he thought he heard, especially where the householder had a thick accent. The information on the census records was provided by the Head of the House and they often got it wrong!
• Literacy levels were not the same as today, and that included the enumerator!
Our genealogy library holds the census returns for North Ayrshire, on microfilm, from 1841 to 1901. In addition, you can access all of Scotland via our computers on the ScotlandsPeople website.