Canadian Census 1881
Schedule 1 was designed to enumerate the entire population of Canada by name. Every individual whose habitual home was
within an enumerator's district as of April 4, 1881, was to be listed on the population schedule of that district.
Regardless of the date when a particular family was actually enumerated, the population was to be counted as it existed on
April 4, 1881. When members of the household were temporarily absent from their usual place of residence, they were
enumerated under the de jure system, which placed people in the area where they usually lived or slept.
A census family was defined as a group of people legally domiciled under the same roof or who shared the same food.
The following were all examples of a single census family: the occupants and employees of a boarding house (if that was their regular place of residence); a single person living alone; the family and domestic servants living in a house.
On an enumerator's folio (a sheet in the enumerator's book), the head of the household was listed first, followed by the
other members; therefore, each household took up as many lines as there were people living in the household.
The 1881 Census aimed to highlight generalities rather than specific occurrences; consequently, enumeration was expected
to be systematic and fit individuals' information into categories that could be easily compiled and interpreted.
