About the data
This dataset contains a 2 per cent systematic cluster sample from the enumerators' books of the 1851 Census of Great Britain. The sample consists of 945 clusters and the total sample is around 400,000 individuals and was mainly drawn by selecting every fiftieth enumeration book which related to each category of place. In addition, a sample of smaller English and Welsh villages and institutional populations were taken.For Scotland, the enumerator's book was the sample unit, every fiftieth successive book being selected. Particular variables include: name, address, relationship to head of family, marital status, age, sex, occupation, place of birth, whether blind or deaf and dumb.
How the data were used
The Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Those whom God hath not joined' explored the position of never-married men and women in nineteenth century England and Wales. To do this a random sample of both never-married and ever-married people aged 45 and over was needed in order to compare their household situations, their occupations and their propensity to migrate. By using both samples from the 1851 and 1881 censuses it was possible to compare change over a 30-year period. A bespoke sub-section of the full 1881 Census of Great Britain (SN 4177) was also used which listed all the people born in eighteen specified parishes in England. The parishes chosen were those whose parish register reconstitutions were available. Using these two sources it was possible to link people aged 45 and over at the time of the 1881 census to their family of origin, to explore whether features of that family had affected the chances of making a marriage, for example, birth order, number of siblings of the same and opposite sex, father's occupation, age at parents' death. Using the birthplace group it was also possible to look in more detail at migration. Findings from this research have been published as Christine Jones, 'From Hartland to Hartley: marital status and occupation in the later nineteenth century' in Nigel Goose, ed., Women's Work in Industrial England (Local Population Studies, 2007), pp. 289-313.
About the author
Christine Jones was awarded her Ph.D. for the thesis 'Those whom God hath not joined' by the University of Essex in 2004. She subsequently worked as a Research Assistant on the Victorian Panel Study and is currently employed as a Research Assistant on the Integrated Census Microdata Project (both ESRC funded) applying the skills that she gained in her postgraduate research. Her research interests focus on nineteenth century social and population history, particularly in relation to nineteenth century censuses and including specific topics such as marital status and the link to occupations, and declared disabilities.
To view and download the data GO TO ESDS