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The Censuses of England and Wales (1841-1911)

16 Jul By Dwight Leave a Comment

The censuses for England and Wales were taken every ten years. The years released to the public include: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911. These are scanned and online on two major subscription databases; www.ancestry.com and www.findmypast.co.uk They are also indexed on www.familysearch.org with links to the Findmypast website. They make a wonderful tool for hunting down Irish immigrants.

While usually, the censuses will simply say “Ireland” as the place of birth, sometimes, they actually provide county and parish of birth. Two of my favorites are the 1841 and 1851 enumerations. These are important as they are pre and post Potato Famine. My rule of thumb is that if a family had immigrated by 1841 they left for reasons other than hunger, and they had enough money to leave. In short, they were not always among the poor of the poor. The story in 1851 was different. It was towards the end of the Potato Famine, and massive migration was still underway. Both tell the story of very different migrations out of Ireland.

Now continuing with my examples, there’s some quirks you need to be aware of in 1841 schedule. In that census, only “I” is listed for Ireland and nothing else for birthplace. Always double check that with a later census to make sure the census taker was accurate. Other quirks include relationships not being provided, and the age of individuals older than 15 years being rounded down to the nearest five years. When you compare this with 1851, a clearer picture emerges. Both Ancestry and Findmypast have helpful guides to the censuses, including a listing of census areas known to be missing from the 1841 collection.

With the censuses so readily available at the fingertips, it’s an exciting time to be a family historian!

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Census, Databases, England, Immigration and Emigration, Wales

Don’t Forget South Wales!

9 Apr By Dwight Leave a Comment

If your ancestors worked in the heavy industry in England or America’s urban jungles, then you might find they learned their trade in South Wales. During and after the Potato Famine of the late 1840s, the Irish flooded into southern Wales in Glamorgan and Monmouth counties. There they learned trades. At that point many stayed, while others immigrated with their new found skills. Destinations included the newly opened coal fields in northern England or to American cities such as Scranton and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Another common migration was to eventually move on to New South Wales in Australia.

Cities with large Irish populations included Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea as well as the Rhondda Valley (between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydif). The heavy industry and mining jobs were not available in the southern part of Ireland so this was a new experience for these emigrants.

Typically, immigrants to these industrial areas came from counties Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford. The greatest numbers were from Cork and Tipperary. The Irish port of Rosslare, County Wexford provided a direct route to the Welsh port of Fishguard in Pembrokeshire.

Many Glamorgan records are available. The Glamorgan Family History Society www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wlsglfhs/ is a good place to start. Many of their indexes are  available in major libraries. Never forget the collections of the Family History Library www.familysearch.org or the links provided on the UK & Ireland Genealogy (GENUKI)   website: www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Pay special attention to their “Archives and Library” link for material not available outside of Glamorganshire.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Immigration and Emigration, Research, Wales

Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

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