Census of population in France

The Census of population , such as it is practiced in France, presents, in addition to its initial interest in field of the Statistique S, a considerable interest for the genealogist, which it is of a private individual who practices the family genealogy as Loisir, or about a professional who devotes themselves to searchs for heirs for successions in déshérence.

Indeed, in one and the other case, the List of names of the population , consultable summary by all, that it either in the communal records or the departmental records (according to the risks of conservation of these lists in the two types of files), indicates for each individual listed various information or likely to bring a particular lighting on the life of the studied household (for example presence of children placed as a nurse, or apprentices placed with residence, without speaking about the possible relations of vicinity…) or to light the professional elected by a notary in the search for unknown heirs (the aforementioned professional often supplementing its research by other sources such as the electoral rolls or the files of the Recording).

The two tables which follow endeavor to list, for the 26 censuses having taken place in France between 1831 and 1975, the information which the researcher is likely to find there. Particular cases are to be considered for the following departments:

the Alpes-Maritimes, Savoy and Haute-Savoie, annexed by France in 1860;
the Low-Rhine, Haut-Rhin and the Moselle, annexed by the German Empire of 1871 with 1919, but in which operations of census also existed during this period, at dates and according to obviously different methods.

Like all documents of files, the censuses must be used with critical spirit. Methodical comparisons revealed a high frequency of divergence between this information and those provided by the Civil statue, in particular for the first names of the children. If that can be included/understood since their drafting is quite later at the times of birth, there are glaring errors such as the attribution of the name of the husband to his wife, in particular when she becomes widowed. The data collected must thus be confronted enters and with other sources.

From 1831 to 1891

Notes for the censuses of 1831 to 1891

Census of 1831: the heading “Age” is absent. In holds place a Année heading of birth, which will reappear starting from the census of 1906. Censuses of 1881,1886 and 1891: the heading “Personal situation” is definitively replaced by the Position heading in the household. Additional headings of the census of 1831:

* Knowing to read or write,

* Contribution to the role of the commune,

* Non-taxation,

* Natural of the cover of the houses.

Additional heading of the census of 1841:

* Natural of the cover of the houses.

Additional headings of the census of 1851:

* Religion,

* Infirmities and diseases.

Additional heading of the censuses of 1872 and 1876:

* Birthplace (will reappear of 1901 to 1936).

From 1896 to 1975

Notes for the censuses of 1896 to 1975

Censuses of 1896 and 1901: heading “Year of non-existent birth”. In holds place a heading “Age”, which existed since 1836 and permanently since 1846.

Censuses of 1968 and 1975: heading “Year of birth” replaced by a heading “Birth date”.

additional Headings of the censuses of 1901 to 1936:

* Birthplace (heading already appeared in 1872 and 1876),

* social Position (owner, workman or employed, with indication of the possible owner).

additional Heading of the censuses of 1962,1968 and 1975:

* Residence with the preceding census (for 1962, the appointed date is on January 1st, 1956).

Notice about the census of 1975: the Lists of names of the population are in theory consultable only as from 2005. The censuses of 1982,1990 and 1999, as well as the posterior partial censuses (at variable dates according to the communes), will be consultable only with the expiry of a thirty years deadline.

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