Indexes to Census
Halton County
1842 - 1901

How To Use:

INCLUSIONS: This is an index to the heads of households and "strays". It is not an index to all the names appearing in the census. this would have required far too much memory. As a result, you will still need to consult the microfilm to see if an individual was included in the census.

Heads of households: are people (usually, but not necessarily male) who are listed first in the family group. No one else in the family who has the same last name as the head has been included.

Strays: are people living in a household whose last name is different than the head of the household. Even where two or three may appear in a single household, they are each listed separately.

Spelling: An invariable rule has been to transcribe the name as it was spelled in the original.

Census takers were notorious for their phonetic spelling, so some names may be scattered around the alphabet.

1842 Census

The 1842 census is unique amongst those indexed here for two reasons. First, the census only names the head of the household, so there are no strays. Second, the pages of the Esquesing census got separated at some point before the microfilming. The page marked "Cram" is found on reel C-1344 in the Newcastle District, Cramahe Township census at the page indicated.

Those marked "Esq" are on reel C-1345 in the Gore District, Esquesing Township. The "Unid" entries were found among the Unidentified sheets at the end of reel C-1345. Remember that what survived from across the province was copied on these two reels.

1851/2 Census

The original manuscript of this census for Esquesing Township were lost and were not microfilmed.

1861 Census

The 1861 census is on two reels C-1030 and C-1031. It was conducted in sections so that the Agricultural part of the Census is interspersed amongst the other sheets. We have not attempted to index theses entries. The Agricultural entries for a particular property should be found in the first set after the entry in the main part of the census. For example the Agricultural sheets for Esquesing are on pages 16-18, 47-49, 74-75, 103-104, 124-25 of Reel C-1030

 Special features in the Esquesing census include a map of lots in the quarter north and east of Glen Williams; a list of places of worship and school houses on the back of page 45; and a list of schools, with their address and number of pupils on the last page of the census.
 

1871 Census

The 1871 census for Halton County covers three different reels C-9955 to C-9957

The most extensive and comprehensive census microfilmed.  These records were organized and filmed so that all nine schedules for each enumeration district were brought together as a unit.

Esquesing

The 1871 census is numbered in five separate series on reels C-9956 (Div. 1-4, Esquesing and C-9957 (Div. 5, Esquesing; Georgetown). Each division includes nine separate returns. Of these we have indexed two, "Nominal return of the living" and the Nominal return of the deaths with last twelve months". The Death schedules have been given a page "0" within each Division.

Page Order: In the process of microfilming the 1871 Census for this area, one page appears to be missing (Esquesing, Division 3, p. 64) and several have been duplicated (Esquesing, Div. 3, p. 1; Div 4, pp. 62-3; Georgetown, pp. 6-7).

1881 Census

The 1881 census appears on two reels (C-13257 and C13258)  Of the eight schedules only Schedule one, the nominal census returns have survived.

Esquesing

The 1881 census for Esquesing appears on one reel (C-13258). This is the first census which separates Acton from Esquesing. Only the first schedules were microfilmed, so there is much less business information in this census than 1871.

Page order: This census is seriously out of order in many places. The following are the key sequences.

 Esquesing Div. 1 - order is 8, 12, 9, 10, 11, 13.
Esquesing Div. 1 - order is 16, 20, 19, 18, 17, 21.
Esquesing Div. 1 - order is 48, 52, 49, 50, 51, 53.
Esquesing Div. 1 - order is 92, 95, 94, 93, 96, 99, 98, 97, 100, 104, 102, 101, 103, 105.
Esquesing Div. 1 - order is 113, blank page, 114.
Esquesing Div. 2 - order is 4, 8, 5, 6, 7, 9.
Esquesing Div. 2 - order is 20, 24, 21, 22, 23, 25.
The Georgetown and Acton census returns are in normal order.

1891 Census

The 1891 census appears on three reels (T-6340, T-6341 and T-6427). Only the first schedules were microfilmed, so there is much less business information in this census than 1871.

1901 Census

The 1901 census appears on two reels (T-6470 and T-6471). Schedule 1 (nominal) and Schedule 2 (Buildings and lands, church and school) are available for each area. There is a reference from Schedule 2 to the families in Schedule 1. This means that researchers can place a family in a specific location (ie lot, concession or street address).

The nominal census (Schedule 1) includes for the first time entries for Colour, Month and Date of birth, and Year Immigrated to Canada (if applicable).