The census of 1831

In 1831 Stevenson produced a census of the village of Harby. It is recorded in a 24 page notebook which has been handed down over the years to be part of the Booth collection. The cover is made using the back of a public notice relating to payment of taxes dated 1 May 1830. It measures 100 mm by 160 mm with the title on the front

Population formula

Harby

May  30th 1831

by Stevenson

He lists people giving Christian name, surname and age in what appear to be family households. The lists bring those of the same surname together by lines down the page which coincide with the common surname. The first in the group is always of adult age, usually a man and is thought to be the head of the household. The households do not follow any logical sequence such as alphabetical order. They may be the order of houses in the village streets. However so far comparison with the 1941 census has not shown any similarity of sequences though the 1841 census is thought to be by houses in streets as in following censuses.

He summarizes his counts for 1831on pages 24 and the back cover -

Total population, men, women and children - 488, made up of male 260, female  228.

Number of inhabited house - 96.

Number of families - 99, employed in agriculture 47, trade 23, other 29.

In 1821 the population was 457.

Images of the original pages can be see by clicking below

Front cover, 0-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, 16-17, 18-1920-21, 22-23, 24-25,

back cover, cover notice.