Isle of Man Census

Introduction
A census is a statistical count and description of the population of a country taken for the purpose of accurate government representation, tax collection, and military purposes. Census records are a valuable source of genealogical information for the Isle of Man because they list names, relationships, ages, places of birth, and marital statuses.

The Isle of Man has taken a census every ten years since 1821 (except for 1941 due to WWII). The first census listing people by name was taken in 1841. The census enumerator books for the 1821 and 1831 censuses were destroyed, so only summary information is available for those census years. The Isle of Man government has a 100-year privacy law, meaning the 1921 census will be released in 2021.

Although the 1841 census is of great value, it had some limitations. In this census, relationships were not given, the age of individuals older than 15 years was rounded down, and specific birthplaces were not provided. The 1851 census and subsequent censuses provide more detailed information, making it easier to find family members.

Understanding the Census
With each census, pre-printed forms were used (called schedules). These schedules were handed by enumerators to the heads of household who were told to only record those actually at home on census night. Meaning, you will not find listed at home those at boarding schools or those working away from home that night. These forms were collected soon afterwards and entered into census enumerator books. While the census enumerator books survive, most of the original schedules do not.

The dates of each census were as follows:

Census Content
You will find the following information in the census:

Pre-1841 Censuses
The 1821 and 1831 censuses contained only statistical information. The original census enumerator books were destroyed, so only summary information is available for those census years. The summary information has been made available on A Manx Note Book. Click to view the statistical information for the 1821 census and the 1831 census.

1841 Census
The following information was recorded:
 * Parish, Island, or Town
 * Name of street, place, road
 * House number or name
 * Name of each person that had spent the night in that household
 * Age (the ages of people over 15 years old were rounded down to the nearest 5 years)
 * Sex
 * Profession or occupation
 * Where born (asked whether born in the same county as residence and whether born in England, Scotland, Ireland, or Foreign Parts)

1851-1901 Censuses
The following information was recorded:
 * Parish, Island, or Town
 * Name of street, place, road
 * House number or name
 * Name and surname of each person that had spent the night in that household
 * Relationship to the head of household
 * Marital status
 * Age (at last birthday)
 * Sex
 * Rank, profession, or occupation
 * Place of birth (if outside of England or Wales, only the country was given)
 * Only in 1851 and 1861: whether blind, deaf, or dumb
 * Only in 1861, 1871, and 1881: whether property vacant or inhabited
 * Only in 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901: whether deaf and dumb, blind, imbecile (feeble-minded) or idiot, or lunatic
 * Only in 1891 and 1901: number of rooms occupied if less than five and whether employer, employed, or neither (own account)
 * Only in 1901: inhabited or uninhabited houses, if working at home, language spoken

1911 Census
The following information was recorded:
 * Parish and postal address
 * Name and surname of every person in household (those who stayed the night and those who arrived the next morning not enumerated elsewhere)
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Age (at last birthday)
 * Sex (age listed in months for those under one year)
 * Marital status
 * Completed years of present marriage
 * Number of children born alive in present marriage, number of children still living, and number of children who have died
 * Profession or trade
 * Industry or service
 * Whether employer, worker, or working on own account
 * Whether working at home
 * Birthplace (those born outside of the United Kingdom indicate the country of birth)
 * Nationality of those born in a foreign country
 * Infirmity (deaf, dumb, blind, lunatic, imbecile, or feeble-minded)
 * Language spoken (indicate whether able to speak English and/or Manx)

Online Records
The censuses between 1841 and 1911 can all be found online.