A census is a head count of a country or region at a given time. 1941 excepted, every ten years since 1801 a census has been conducted in England and Wales.
The object of the census—the word is from the Latin ‘censere’ `assess’—is to provide information about the population as a whole. Listing everyone by name, wherever they happen to be on a single night, as the British census does, has been found to be the most efficient way to count everybody once and nobody twice.
Every census year, house by house, census workers called ‘enumerators’ deliver forms to be completed by the head of the household, who is instructed to give details of everyone who slept in the dwelling on census night, always a Sunday. The completed forms, known as schedules, are collected a few days later. From 1841 to 1901 the information from the schedules was copied into enumeration books and the household schedules destroyed.
In the censuses of 1801 to 1831 names were not kept. The 1841 census was the first to record this information.
The average population of the parish of Whitmore in Staffordshire over the 14 censuses from 1801 to 1931 was 314. The 1801 census counted 234 people. The largest number was 377 in 1851. In 1931 the population was 279, close to the figure for the first census of 1801, 130 years before. From 1931 to 1951 the population doubled.
The number of houses increased by a third from 1831 to 1841, then, for the next 50 years the number of houses remained constant at about 62, increasing by 10 (15%) in 1911. From 1931 to 1951 the number of houses increased from 71 to 166, and the larger population was able to be accommodated.
1851 census
The United Kingdom Census of 1851 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of Sunday 30 March 1851. 377 people were enumerated at Whitmore, Staffordshire; 205 males and 172 females. There were 64 households on 26 pages; there was one unoccupied house. There was an increase of 10 people compared with the number of people counted in 1841.
Nearly 30% of those enumerated (107 of 363) in 1841 were still in the parish a decade later; at least 10 of the 363 had died.
Nearly 80% of those enumerated in 1851 (295 of 377) had been born in Staffordshire; 133 of these were baptised in the parish (35% of total enumerated). 96 on the 1851 census had been born since the last census: 54 of those were baptised in Whitmore.
Occupations
145 of the 377 enumerated had occupations listed; 119 were male and 26 female. The most common occupations were:
- Farm servant: 26 in the parish; pus 1 farm labourer and 1 field labourer = 28 total, all male
- House servant: 18 in the parish; 15 of these were female
- Servant: 11 in the parish (not including 1 visitor): 7 of the 11 servants were female
- Labourer: 25 in the parish, all male
- 16 men were employed in various roles associated with the railway
- There were 11 households headed by farmers with with 46 living on the farms being employed (including the farmers)
- There were 2 inns with 8 employees living in and 5 visitors or lodgers
- At the Hall Rowland Mainwaring was listed as Captain in the Royal Navy; there were 12 live in servants.
- At the Rectory, other than the Rector, there were 6 servants living in
- There were 19 others with various occupations in the parish
- There were also 10 visitors with occupations
60% of the 135 enumerated in Whitmore with occupations (who were not visitors) were either servants or labourers.
1851 to 1861
At the time of the next census there were 345 people counted in Whitmore, a decline of 32 (8%).
- 118 (31%) were still in the Parish
- 32 (8%) had died or probably died
- 95 (25%) had emigrated but were still in Staffordshire
- 44 (12%) had emigrated but beyond Staffordshire although still in in England
- 71 (19%) had apparently emigrated but I have not yet been able to trace
- 17 (5%) had been visitors to Whitmore in 1851
Of the 79 servants and labourers:
- 19 (24%) were still in the parish in 1861
- 25 were in Staffordshire but not in Whitmore
- 7 were no longer in Staffordshire
- 24 were no longer in Whitmore but have not been located on 1861 census
- 3 had died or probably died
Of the 16 railway employees, 7 were still in Whitmore in 1861; 1 had died; 3 had emigrated but were in Staffordshire; 1 was in Shropshire, another in Lancashire; the location is unknown for the remaining 3. Of the 5 emigrants where we know where they were in 1861, 4 were still employed by the railways.
A surprisingly large number of people moved to and from the parish of Whitmore between 1851 and 1861. The turnover for the decade amounted to about 60%.
People were willing to travel to find work, though on the whole they did not move far, and tended to remain in the same county or a neighbouring county.
Many unmarried Whitmore residents were tenants or residents in the house of their employer.
The 1851 census was the first census to record how members of a household were related. This information provides a clearer picture of families and of employment relationships, and census data about occupation gives helps to establish a fuller account of the Whitmore’s economic history.
Wikitree:
- Whitmore Staffordshire 1851 census
- Category: Whitmore, Staffordshire 1851 Census – all 377 people listed on the 1851 census in the parish of Whitmore