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From: "Beverley Weston" <>
Subject: Re: The Census and Vessels at Sea
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 11:17:24 +1000


For Gordon Johnson,

Hello Gordon,

You wrote.....

"No census records were destroyed except in Ireland. Ships in the 1851
census were enumerated if in harbour and are found with the rest of the
town.
If at sea at the time they were missed - in later censuses they were
enumerated on arrival or given forms in advance, to complete while still at
sea."

Sorry to disagree, but......

>From page 41 "Making Sense of The Census" (paraphrased because my typing is
not all it should be)....

The seagoing population in 1851 enumerated in three groups.
1 - Those who slept on board vessels in harbour on 30 Mar (census night)
2 - those at sea that night on vessels engaged in the home trade (within the
limits of of the coast of the UK)
3 - those absent from the UK in ships normally sailing to and from foreign
parts.

(The shedules collected from groups 1 and 2 were sent direct to the Census
Office in London.)

>From page 104 of the above book relating to the 1851 Census..

"The ships' returns for this census also seem to have been destroyed at some
stage."

>From page 43......

"Shipping schedules were issued in 1851 but very few appear to have
survived."

I have given the credentials of the above book in a previous posting.

Bev

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