The Newport, Wormit & Forgan Archive

1841 Census

About the 1841 census

This census was taken on Sunday 6 June, 1841. The following information was gathered:

• For each house, a minimal address is given
• Whether a house was inhabited, uninhabited or being built
• Within the house, the main 'family' is separated from servants, lodgers and other occupiers by a single stroke (/). The end of the household is signified by a double stroke (//). (The definition of 'house' was difficult to interpret and consequently the number of 'separate occupiers' is incorrect. It is hardly surprising that sometimes the placing of the marks in the enumeration books is inconsistent.)
• "The name of each person who abode therein"
• Age and sex of each person (males and females in separate columns). Ages up to 15 are listed exactly as reported, but ages over 15 were rounded down to the nearest 5 years. So, a person aged 29 would be listed on the census as age 25 years.
• Profession, Trade, Employment or of Independent Means
• Birthplace: If the person was born in Scotland in the county where the census was taken (Fife) it was recorded as 'Y' yes, or 'N' no if otherwise. If born in England (E), Ireland (I) or Foreign Parts (F).

The 1841 census therefore is the least informative of the Victorian censuses. Compared with the subsequent years, the address, age, occupation and birthplace information is minimal. There are also no relationships given between members of a family. However, compared to 1831, when only statistical information was collected, this was a great improvement.

The enumerators were also asked to comment on any changes since the previous census in 1831, and to record the number of emigrants to the colonies or foreign countries since 31st December 1840.

The remainder of this page is transcribed in full from the census returns.

The parish was split into 2 Enumeration Districts

Enumeration District 1

First or northern district comprehending the farm of Wormit; villages of Woodhaven, Newport and Marytown; Tayfield, Craighead, Causeyhead and Inverdovat farms. Bounded on the north by the Tay, on the west by Balmerino parish, on the east by Ferryport on Craig parish and on the south by the farms of Newton, Flass, West & East Friarton and Kirkton.
Henry Smyth, Enumerator & person appointed to divide the parish.

Enumeration District 2

Second or southern district comprehending the farms of Newton, Flass, St Fort, Upper, West & East Friarton, Kirkton and Morton. Bounded on the south by Leuchars and Logie parishes, on the east by Ferryport on Craig parish, on the west by Kilmany parish and on the south (sic) by the farms of Wormit, Tayfield, Inverdovat & Causeyhead.
John Heggie, Enumerator.

Comments by the enumerators:

District 1: The population in the villages of Marytown & Newport in the northern part of the parish has been gradually increasing since 1831 chiefly on account of their having of late years been much resorted to by the inhabitants of Dundee for summer lodgings which has induced several of the parishoners to build neat cottages for that purpose. The number of lodgers from Dundee who slept in the parish on the night of 6th June was 79, forming 16 distinct families; and the number of parishoners absent on the aforesaid night was 34. The population of the agricultural portion of this district has deviated very little from the census of 1831. There have been no emigrants from this district within the last 6 months; Miss Margaret Brown, daughter of the late Archibald Brown, farmer, Inverdovat, sailed for Port Philip in the ship "Australia" which was destroyed by fire off the Cape of Good Hope in January last; she had 2 brother farmers who emigrated to Port Philip in 1838. 3 masons from Newport emigrated to New Orleans in 1836 and 2 wrights to New York in 1837.
Witness my hand this 12th day of June 1841, Henry Smyth, Schoolmaster.

District 2: The population of this part of the parish is much the same as in the census of 1831. The number of parishoners absent on the night of 6th June in this district of the parish was 8. There have been no emigrants from this district in the last 6 months. There is no peculiarity regarding the population of this part of the parish that I am aware of.
Witness my hand this 17th day of June 1841, Henry Smyth, Schoolmaster.

17th June 1841: I hereby declare that I have examined 268 copies of enumeration schedules which to the best of my belief contain the whole parish... Charles Nairn (minister of the parish).

Statistics

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