Census returns comprise the official enumeration of the population of the country. They record personal details such as name, age, country or province of birth, occupation, ethnic origin and religious denomination.

The information in these Ontario returns was recorded by the census enumerators as it existed on the 2nd of April 1871. Keep in mind that the accuracy of the information varied with the competency of the enumerators and the willingness of residents to provide personal details. The indexers have transcribed the information as it appears in these original returns.

The 1871 census included the following nine schedules:

1. Nominal return of the living.
2. Nominal return of the deaths within the last twelve months (ending 2 April 1871)
3. Return of public institutions, real estate, vehicles and implements.
4. Return of cultivated land, field products, and plants and fruits.
5. Return of livestock, animal products, home-made fabrics and furs.
6. Return of industrial establishments.
7. Return of products of the forest.
8. Return of shipping and fisheries.
9. Return of mineral products.

For more information about the 1871 census, you may wish to consult the publication Manual containing "The Census Act" and the Instructions to Officers Employed in the taking of the First Census of Canada, (1871), Department of Agriculture, 1871. A microfiche copy is available for loan from the National Library of Canada.

The head-of-household index to the 1871 census of Ontario was undertaken by the Ontario Genealogical Society to mark the organization's 25th anniversary in 1986. Hundreds of volunteers with the OGS branches contributed to the project, which took five years to complete. The database was produced in co-operation with the National Archives of Canada. The thirty printed volumes published by the OGS are available in many public libraries or they can be purchased from the Ontario Genealogical Society.

This database contains the names of the following individuals in the Province of Ontario as they were recorded in April 1871:

• heads of households
• "strays" (people with a different surname living in the household, such as a mother-in-law or servant)
• people who died during the previous twelve months

Numerical list of Districts (districts, counties and some cities), sub-districts (towns, townships) and microfilm reel numbers

Bear in mind that census enumerators often spelled phonetically, so expect spelling variations. Use $ as a wildcard, for example: Sm$th for Smith/Smyth, Laro$que for Laroque/Larocque, M$cDonald for MacDonald/McDonald.

Given names are recorded as they were written in the original returns. Thus William George may appear as Wm., William G., W. G., George W., etc.

You can narrow your search by adding additional search terms, but keep in mind that if your request is too specific you may rule out possibilities of which you are unaware. For example, your ancestor might be Irish not English, or lived in a different county than the one you expect.

For common surnames, you can narrow the search by including Occupation as a search term, e.g. farmer, mason, teacher. This field is also useful when attempting to locate all individuals with a particular occupation or profession. Note, however, that some variation exists in how the information was recorded by the enumerators, e.g. lab for labourer.

You can also narrow your search by specifying the person's Ethnic origin. Commonly used terms were:

African, American, Dutch, English, French, German, Indian, Irish, Negro, Prussian, Scottish, Scotch, Welch, Welsh

For example:

To locate Aboriginal people in Essex County, type in Indian and Essex. Your results will show all references for Essex County that include the word Indian whether it appears in the Surname, Given Name or Ethnic Origin fields.

To refine your geographical search, you can enter a place (town or township) in the Keyword field, for example Nepean or Stratford. Note that smaller communities were not enumerated separately, but within the surrounding township.

For example:

Residents of Bell's Corners in Carleton County were enumerated within Nepean Township.

Your search results will be posted as a results summary list from which you will be able to obtain more detailed descriptions.

Results Summary List

The results summary list, sorted by column, contains information that will allow you to rapidly assess how relevant the documents are that you have found. Each page of the list provides 20 references, which is a default value that you can change. You can export the results to a diskette or to your own computer.

The description includes the following identifying details: surname, given name(s), age, birthplace, district, sub-district.

From that list, select the entries of interest to you. The first column is linked to the detailed description (see below). Clicking on the icon will bring you to the detailed description.

Detailed Description

From the results summary list, you can consult one detailed description at a time. Each detailed description includes all or some of the sections described below.

Name: The person's name as it was recorded by the enumerator. Expect spelling variations.

Stray: If an individual has a different surname than the head of the family, e.g. a servant or mother-in-law, the word "stray" will appear.

Sex: Male or female

Age: The enumerator was supposed to record each person's age as of the 2nd of April 1871. On the actual census returns, the enumerators were instructed to record an infant's age with fractions, e.g. 3/12 for three months. The OGS indexers indicated ages under one year with a blank or a "0".

Birthplace: The enumerators were instructed to indicate the country or province of birth, not the specific place. Some common abbreviations are:

Microfilm reel: Microfilm reel on which the above page reference can be found.

How to Consult a Record or Order a Copy