[or-roots] Canada English or Scottish

Mon May 14 13:03:28 PDT 2012

Les

The difference between the US and Canadian censuses of 1880 and 1881 is that
while the US asks where the parents were born, the Canadian asks the
"Origin" of the person's family.

Thus, a person could be a third generation Canadian, but have the origin of
Scots, Irish, or whatever.  Interestingly, on the 1881 index at Ancestry,
the word "origin" has been replaced by "nationality."  That makes no sense -
a person's grandfather could be born in Scotland of Irish  origin (or, more
likely, the reverse).

The instruction (per Ancestry) for this section is:

"Origin (Ethnic Background) - "Indian" was used for people of Native
descent"

In 1891, this was replaced with the same "birth place of father/mother."

The 1871 census also has "origin" Origin (Ethnic Background)

The 1861 is mute on the subject.

All of these, by the way, include some interesting "other" questions, such
as the Religion of the occupants. The 1861 asks about the living situation:

House: Brick stone, frame, log, &c; number of stories

Number of families living in house. 

Vacant (so, they enumerated vacant dwellings as well?)

Being built  

I really appreciate this, as I have one family in Guysborough, NS, that has
"Portuguese" as "origin" - apparently some Portuguese fishermen made their
way to Nova Scotia and never left!  By 1871, there were 372 people descended
from these fishermen.

Pat

In Tucson

From: or-roots-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
[mailto:or-roots-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Leslie
Chapman
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 7:33 PM
To: or-roots mail list
Subject: [or-roots] Canada English or Scottish

Here's a poser for you Pat, in the 1881 Canadian census few of my cousins
are listed as being of Scottish Ethnic Origin which is probably the correct
answer while most of them are listed as English. My question is whether in
1881 and several generations, well maybe only three generations removed from
our ancestor who was born in Scotland is that really a valid answer per
their questionnaire? I realize that is a little off topic, but it just
occurred to me apropos your information on the instructions. Has anyone ever
seen the instructions for the Canadian Census?

Les C

--- On Fri, 5/11/12, Kith-n-Kin <Kith-n-Kin at cox.net> wrote:

From: Kith-n-Kin <Kith-n-Kin at cox.net>
Subject: Re: [or-roots] Canada English
To: "'or-roots mail list'" <or-roots at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Date: Friday, May 11, 2012, 8:48 AM

Ronda

In Canada, in the 19th century, "Canada-English" generally refered to
Ontario and the "English" provinces, rather than Quebec -- "French"
provinces.

"Can Eng" "Can West" and "Upper Canada" mean Ontario
"Can Fr" "Can East" and "Lower Canada" mean Quebec

However, on the 1900 census, the instructions were:

143. If the birthplace reported is Canada or Newfoundland, ask whether the
person is of English or French descent. Write Canada English or Canada
French, according to the answer.

So, presumably, a person born in Quebec of "English" origin rather than
"French" origin would be so noted. 

In 1930, we have:

170. French Canadians should be distinguished from other Canadians. For a
French-speaking person born in Canada, enter "Canada-French"; for all other
persons born in Canada, enter "Canada-English" (even though they may not
actually speak English).

In 1940 we have:

475. French Canadians, i.e., Canadians of French mother tongue, should be
distinguished from other Canadians and reported as Canada-French. For all
other persons born in Canada, enter Canada, English, even though they may
not actually speak English.

Isn't this fun?

Just goes to show that you ALWAYS have to read the enumerators instructions
before deciding what a particular usage means.

Here's a great resource for that:

http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/tEnumInstr.shtml

Pat
In Tucson

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