Friday, February 27, 2009

Ancestry.ca Posts 1916 Canadian Census Online

Ancestry.ca really surprised me by releasing the 1916 Census for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

More than 1.7-million names and over 38,000 images are in this census, and is well worth the look if you suspect, or know of, anyone there in 1916.

From 1906 to 1950, a separate census was taken of the Prairie Provinces five years after every national census, and according to the law, 92 years had to pass before the census would be released.

If you look at the census, you will find the name of the person, their gender, and marital status.

You will also find their age, birthdate, and place where that person was born.

The place of residence will be given as it was in 1916, and also provide a list of members of the family.

You can also see the image of the actual census return. I learned that a person I had been following from New Brunswick to Manitoba, and to Alberta, listed his wife as being from Manitoba.

But when I checked, her father — who now lived with them — was originally from New Brunswick, as was her husband, the head of the household. Question - answered!

The 1916 Census is free with a 14-day trial from Ancestry.ca for those who wish to take a look at it.