My September Find in Crestleaf.com 12 Months of Fascinating Family Finds was actually discovered while researching for a friend and relates to his family, but if you have Nova Scotia roots, this might be a great resource for you.
Canadian census records generally begin with the 1851 census, although there are some census records for 1842. Researching the time period before those census records can be somewhat difficult. There may be land deeds or probate information, but aside from those resources, it is possible that not much else may exist to document an ancestor’s life.
My September Fascinating Family Find is the discovery of the 1827 census for Nova Scotia, Canada. It is not an every name census, but it gives a staggering amount of information for each household. Even better, it is available and searchable online at the Nova Scotia Archives.
I entered a search for “Gallagher” and I am looking for Daniel, who lived in Ketch Harbour. Three Gallagher hits came up – two for Daniels and one for Thomas. One of the Daniels lives in Ketch Harbour, so he is my man.
Ketch Harbour 1827 Census
Daniel “Ghalleger” is the 17th entry.
What questions were asked on this census?
1. Name of head of family
2. Number of males excluding laborers
3. Number of females excluding servants
4. Number of hired laborers of males servants
5. Number of male servants
6. Number of souls in the family
7. Occupation
8. Religion
9. Number of births in family for year ending 30 September
10. Number of females married during same year, including servants
11. Number of deaths, including servants
12. Number of acres of land cultivated
13. Bushels of wheat produced
14. Bushels of other grain produced
15. Bushels of potatoes produced
16. Tons of hay produced
17. Number of horses owned
18. Number of horned cattle owned
19. Number of sheep owned
20. Number of swine owned
Ketch Harbour was a very small place, but I feel like I know a lot about these families from the questions on the census. It was a totally unexpected fascinating family find!
If you have Nova Scotia roots, check out the other databases available at the Nova Scotia Archives.