Wednesday, August 13, 2014

LAC has updated the 1861 Census

Library and Archives Canada has upgraded the 1861 Census because there were apparently a “number of missing records and misplaced images were reported by Library and Archives Canada clients and staff". 

They have corrected over 133,000 entries! 

According to their blog, there were definite issues with the Canada West and Canada East.  

“In Canada West, the records for the cities of Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa and Toronto were previously reported missing but the records did exist. The five cities, although enumerated separately in 1861, were tucked away amongst their neighbouring rural districts. For example, the city of Ottawa was listed under the district of Carleton and the city of Kingston was listed under Frontenac. The five cities are now correctly identified as districts and their respective wards are identified as sub-districts. 

Additionally in Canada West, the rural districts of Renfrew and Russell were also reported as missing. The records for those two districts and their sub-districts can now be searched. In the rural district of Kent, the sub-districts of Camden and Gore, the town of Chatham, and the district of Chatham have been correctly identified. The images in the districts of Brant and Dundas are now correctly linked.

In Canada East, several image linking errors were corrected, particularly in the districts of Argenteuil, Montcalm and St-Jean”.

It is good to see that the LAC is listening to our comments, complaints and they are correcting their databases. 

To go to the 1861 census, you can go to