Re: Job of Census enumerators in the 19th century

In a message dated 03/01/2006 23:07:10 GMT Standard Time,
Research Paper 01/21 The 2001 Census of
Population" reviews the key additions to the Census over the years up to
1991:

_________________________________________________________________________

The most important innovation made in 1911 was the use of the census to
obtain more detailed information bearing on the fertility of marriage. For this
purpose the householder's schedules required particulars to be given of (a)
the duration of existing marriages, and (b) the number of living children born
to each marriage and the number alive at the date of the census. The field of
enquiry was also extended under other heads. Information was required (a)
about the industries or services with which workers were connected, i.e. as
distinct from the occupations in which they were personally engaged; (b) whether
persons born outside England, Wales or Scotland were residents or visitors;
and (c) for England and Wales, the number of rooms in all dwellings and not
only, as at the two previous censuses, in dwellings of less than five rooms.
The 1911 Census was the first in which machines were used for purposes of
tabulation in Great Britain.

Nick...

I had certainly seen the 1911 Census referred to as the Fertility Census and
actually referred to as the 1911 census of fertility.

As for the census being the first where machines were first used, I had
certainly seen mention that it was the first where punched cards were used.

Apparently this was first done by Hollerith in the 1890 US Census where the
count took 3 months rather than the expected two years if it had been done
manually.
According to this account the system was taken up by Canada, Norway and
Austria in 1891 but it was not taken up in the UK till 1911 as Stan
indicates.

I am intrigued by the note that:

"The cost of using Hollerith's system in 1900 made them decide to develop
their own system and, despite the short time and the difficulty of getting
round Hollerith's patents, they were able to have more advanced machines
ready in time for the 1910 census. There is a rather strange twist to this
story for the engineer who was in charge of the development of the rival
machines at the Census Bureau, James Powers, was strangely allowed to patent
these more advanced machines in his own name."

I had my experience of this when the particular survey software I was using
25 years ago had been developed by people at the US Bureau of Census who had
then promptly taken their work to the private sector. It was quite clear to
me then and it still is, that this would have not been allowed in the UK -
and clearly the writers of the above were surprised that it could have
happened 70 years earlier.

Regards Stan Mapstone

Re: Job of Census enumerators in the 19th century - not much has