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[edit] Background
The United Kingdom Census of 1841 recorded the occupants of every United Kingdom household on the night of Sunday 6 June 1841. The enactment of the Population Act 1840 meant a new procedure was adopted for taking the 1841 census. It was described as the "first modern census" as it was the first to record information about every member of the household, and administered as a single event, under central control, rather than being devolved to a local level. It formed the model for all subsequent UK censuses, although each went on to refine and expand the questions asked of householders. It was important for early demographic analysis of the United Kingdom population and remains of interest to historians, demographers and genealogists, although the information about each person is quite limited compared with that available from later censuses. The total population of England, Wales and Scotland was recorded as 18,553,124. The 1841 census recorded people's names, age, sex, occupation, and if they were born in the county of their residence, or if they were born in another county, or if they were born anywhere other than in England and Wales. Children under 15 were to have their age recorded accurately, while those over 15 were to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years so, for example, someone aged 63 should be recorded as aged 60. However, not all enumerators followed this instruction and exact ages may have been recorded. [edit] Usage tipsThe 1841 census was conducted based on information collected for the 6th June 1841. Until 2003 the General Record Office was part of the Public Record Office and had its offices first in St. Catherine's House, Chancery Lane, in central London, and later in the Family Records Centre, Islington. References to the General Record Office (GRO) and the Public Record Office (PRO) may appear in older documentation. For more information on the National Archives and the General Record Office, see Wikipedia Another article in Wikipedia includes a "List of UK censuses" giving the date each census was held and the changes to questions asked. Scotland and Northern Ireland maintain their census records separately.
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