Isn't this great news!
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PRO Announces Plan to Put 1901 British Census Online
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The Public Record Office has announced that after months of painstaking
work, the 1901 Census returns for England and Wales will be available
online over the Internet. This huge task of digitizing the original
census images and creating an index to 32 million names is the result of
a partnership between the Public Record Office and QinetiQ (formerly the
larger part of the Defense Evaluation and Research Agency) and is a
major
step towards the Public Record Offices vision of putting records
online to reach a wider
audience worldwide.
From 2 January 2002, visitors to the 1901 Census Web site will be able
to search the index by name, place, address, institution or vessel, free
of charge. Once the desired subject is found, for a small charge
visitors can view a digital image of the original census return and the
transcribed details for an individual or order a copy of either. The
feedback from the successful operation of a pilot project using the 1891
Census returns has allowed us to develop this technology to make it more
user-friendly. Full details of how the census will work, including the
cost, can be found at
http://www.census.pro.gov.uk
Some of the statistics from the census, taken on 31 March 1901: the
population was 32,527,843. The population breakdown was 52% women to 48%
men, and the density of population was 558 per square mile - compared
to 152 per square mile in 1801. Of the total population 1.04% were born
in foreign countries, compared to 0.67% in 1881 and 0.8% in 1891.
Comparable statistics for England and Wales in 1999 show a population
of 52.7 million, and a split of 49% male to 51% female. The population
density was 349 per square kilometer - around 900 per square mile.
Ethnic minority groups made up 6.4% of the overall UK population
(although changes in definition since 1901 make this measurement a less
accurate comparison).
Censuses containing personal information on individuals have been taken
every 10 years since 1841, and, because they contain personal
information, are subject to closure for 100 years. The Public Record
Office holds census returns for England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands.
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--
Pat Connors, Sacramento CA, listowner
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com