Index to the 1871 Census of Ontario

Welcome to the index of the 1871 census of Ontario. This project was undertaken by the Ontario Genealogical Society to mark the organization's 25th anniversary in 1986. Hundreds of volunteers with the OGS branches contributed to the project. The database was produced in co-operation with the National Archives of Canada. Thirty printed volumes were published by the OGS. Copies are available in many public libraries or they can be purchased from the Ontario Genealogical Society.

The index lists only the names of the heads-of-household and any individual living in a household who bears a different surname. Use the search program to locate names of interest in the database. The references you find will provide the exact page on which that name appears in the original census returns on microfilm. There you will find the names of any other family members living in the household.

The census returns are available on microfilm through the inter-institutional loan arrangement. A list of the enumeration districts, arranged by district number, provide the relevant microfilm reel numbers.

Alternatively, you can order copies of pages from our Photoduplication Unit. Please cite RG 31 and a complete reference.

For example: the entry for James Zimmerman gives the reference 015 A 4 12 03. This indicates that his name can be found in District 15 (Brant County), sub-district A (Burford Township), division 4, on page 12 (disregard the last number, i.e 03). That reference appears on microfilm reel C-9914.

Explanation of column headings

Surname:: The index lists only the names of the heads-of-household and any individual living in a household who bears a different surname, referred to as a "stray". Remember to check spelling variations and alternate versions of names, such as Smith/Smyth, McDonnell/MacDonell/MacDonald, O'Grady/Grady. Bear in mind that census enumerators often spelled phonetically.

Given names 1 and 2:: Given names are recorded as stated in the original returns. Thus William George may appear as Wm., William G., W. G., George W., etc.

Stray:: If an individual bears a different surname than the head of the family, he or she is indicated by a "1" in this column. A "2" designates an entry in Schedule Two ("Nominal return of the Deaths within last twelve months"), which follows Schedule One ("Nominal Return of the Living") for each division of each sub-district.

Sex:: Women are designated by a "1" in this column.

Age:: Remember that ages provided by family members to the census enumerator were not necessarily accurate. Ages under one year have been left blank or indicated by a "0".

Birthplace:: Birthplace usually refers to country or province. Some common abbreviations are:

O. - Ontario
C.W. - Canada West (Ontario)
Q. - Quebec
C.E. - Canada East (Quebec)
N.S. - Nova Scotia
N.B. - New Brunswick
P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island
U.S. - United States
Eng. - England
Ire. - Ireland

Religion:: A series of two-letter codes has been used to designate religious denomination. An alphabetical list of the codes is available.

Origin:: The census enumerator was instructed to record paternal ethnic origin. Thus a person with a Scottish mother and Irish father was recorded as being of Irish origin.

Occupation:: Occupations have been entered as given in the original enumeration. "F" indicates a farmer, and "L" indicates a labourer.

District:: Ontario was enumerated by census districts (numbered 1 to 90) which generally correspond to counties and cities.

Sub-district:: Districts were divided into sub-districts, which consisted of townships, towns, villages, and city wards.

Division:: Larger sub-districts were divided into numbered divisions.

Page:: This number indicates the page within the sub-district and division on which the person's name appears, along with those of other family members. A "D" in this column indicates that the name is listed in Schedule Two ("Nominal return of the Deaths within last twelve months"), which follows Schedule One ("Nominal Return of the Living") for each division of each sub-district.

NOTE: Please ignore final column.

Codes for Religious Denominations

Census enumerators used a variety of abbreviations to indicate a person's religious denomination. These have been standardized into a set of two-letter codes. Some are easily recognized, eg. "CE" for Church of England (Anglican). The major variations found in the census returns are included in the following alphabetical list.

AA African Association Baptist LD Latter Day Saints AD Adventist LU Lutheran/Evangelical Lutheran AP American Presbyterian MC I. Meth. C. AT Atheist MD Mahometan BA Baptist ME Methodist BB Bible Believer MI Methodist I. BC Bible Christian MO Mormon BE British Episcopal Methodist MN Mennonite BR Brethren MS Messiah CB Christian Brethren MV Moravian CC Christian Conference Baptist NC New Connexion Methodist CD Christadelphian NG Not Given CE Church of England, Anglican NP N. Presbyterian CI Church of Ireland OB [Other Baptist] CM Calvinistic Methodist OM [Other Methodist] CN Christian OP [Other Presbyterian] CO Congregationalist PA Pagan CP Canada Presbyterian/C. Presb. PB Plymouth Brethren CS Church of Scotland/Kirk/ PE Est. Presbyterian Scotch Presbyterian, etc. PM Primitive Methodist CX Church of Christ PR Protestant DE Deist PS Presbyterian DI Disciple (of Christ) PU Puritan EA Evangelical Association QU Quaker/Friends EM Episcopal Methodist/ RB Reformed Baptist Methodist Episcopal RC Roman Catholic EP Episcopal(ian) RM R. Methodist EU Evangelical Union RP Reformed Presbyterian EV Evangelical SD Seventh Day Adventist FK Free Kirk/Free Presbyterian, etc. SP Spiritualist FT Free Thinker (of England) SW Swedenborgian/New Jerusalem FW Free Will Baptist/Free Christian TU Tunker GB Regular Baptist/see also RB UB United Brethren IF Infidel UN Union Baptist IL Illegible UP United Presbyterian/U. Kirk Presbyterian IM I. Meth. E. UT Unitarian IN Independent UV Universalist IP Irish Presbyterian VM Evangelical Methodist IR Irvingite/Catholic Apostolic WM Wesleyan Methodist JM J. Meth. E. WP W. Presbyterian JU Jew XC C. C. Baptist KB Close Communion Baptist ZZ [Strange references]

Revised: January 18, 1996