Associated Content

Birthplace and nationality

Edward Higgs

Prior to 1841 the census in Britain was not a nominal survey, therefore information on birthplaces and nationality was not collected. Although a question on birthplace was introduced in the 1841 census, it sought information in a convoluted manner. The household schedule had two columns headed 'Whether born in the same county', and "Whether born in Scotland, Ireland, or Foreign Parts". Householders were to write 'yes' or 'no' in the first column. In the second column they were to write 'Scotland', 'Ireland' or 'Foreigner'. The latter term was only to refer to those born outside the United Kingdom who were not British subjects. Those born abroad who were British subjects were to be entered in the first column as a 'no'. British subjects born abroad the UK but resident in the UK in 1841 cannot, therefore, be identified. The enumerators were told to abbreviate these entries when entering them into their enumeration books, as 'Y', 'N', 'S', 'I' and 'F' respectively (Higgs, 1989, 71).

From 1851 onwards the questions on birthplace were more straight forward. In 1851, for those born in England and Wales, householders were to indicate first the county and then the town or parish of birth. This order was to be followed in all subsequent Victorian censuses. In the case of those born in Scotland, Ireland, the British Colonies, the East Indies or 'Foreign Parts', only the country of birth was to be stated. The term 'British Subject' was to be added to the latter if appropriate. In 1861 'British Subject' and 'Naturalised British Subject' were to be distinguished. The 1901 census asked householders to report the following information depending on where born:

The census schedules of 1911 to 1931 provided separate columns for birthplace and nationality. In 1911 the birthplace column was the same as in 1901. In subsequent years the birthplace column was for giving the county, town or parish if born in the UK, or the country, state, or province if born elsewhere. From 1911 onwards, the nationality column allowed one to put 'British Born', 'Naturalised British Subject', or 'French', 'German', etc. (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and the General Register Office, Edinburgh, Guide to Census Reports, Great Britain 1801–1966, 160). The increased interest in those born abroad might reflect both growing concern over the loyalty of foreign nationals in any approaching European war, and the sort of popular animosity towards Jewish immigrants that led to the passage of the 1905 Aliens Act (Gainer; Higgs, 2004, 108–11, 144–9).

The birthplace returns seem broadly accurate, although there do appear to be a significant minority of discrepancies between the entries for people in successive censuses. Many of these discrepancies are minor and easily explained. Variations in the spelling of place names were common, for example, especially in the case of pre-1911 enumerators unfamiliar with the local accent. But in a minority of cases the parish of birth changes. Sloppy clerical work by enumerators, especially when using 'dittos', may account for many apparent birthplace changes. However, the tendency of recent migrants to change their place of birth to that of their place of residence might indicate a desire to prove a 'settlement' in a parish for Poor Law purposes. In institutions such as workhouses there appears to be a tendency for many returning officers to give the location of the institution as the place of birth. In the case of extremely sick people in hospitals, or of senile paupers in workhouses, this is understandable (Higgs, 1989, 72–4). But the birthplace data in the published Reports will be broadly reliable, especially since they supplied information at the level of counties or foreign countries.

In the case of those born abroad, however, it is difficult to say how accurate the returns are. In the Victorian period it was generally believed by the leading officials responsible for census taking in General Register Office that people did not understand the instructions relating to naturalisation (Census of England and Wales, 1891, Vol. IV General Report, 64). The number of foreigners by both birth and nationality may be inflated by the omission of 'British Subject' or 'Naturalised British Subject'. However, it was suggested that some refugees might have falsified their returns by claiming British birth or nationality in order to avoid further persecution. Enumerators may, of course, have been totally mystified by the accents of foreign immigrants, or by foreign geography (Higgs, 2005, 91–2).

The coverage of the birthplace data in the published Reports was somewhat dispersed. In the late Victorian period birthplaces were considered in the General Reports, but there were also volumes of summary tables that gave results for birthplaces along with the ages, civil condition and occupations of the population. In the early twentieth century, each census also had county volumes that contained birthplace data. The exception to this pattern was 1911, which did not have county volumes but did have separate volumes covering each of the distinct headings of data gathered in the census. Volume IX, published in 1913, was entitled Birthplaces (and ages and occupations of foreigners), again adding to the overall impression that the increasing interest in foreign birthplaces was linked to fears of a looming war (Census of England and Wales, 1911, Vol. IX.). There is some evidence to indicate that the 1911 census returns were indeed used by MI5 to construct a register of enemy aliens during the First World War (Higgs, 2004, 110).

REFERENCES

Census of England and Wales, 1891, Vol. IV General Report, with summary tables and appendices BPP 1893–4 CVI. [View this document: General report, England and Wales, Vol. IV, 1891]

Census of England and Wales, 1911, Vol. IX. Birthplaces (and ages and occupations of foreigners), BPP 1913 LXXVIII. [View this document: Birthplaces, England and Wales, Vol. IX, 1911]

Bernard Gainer, The alien invasion: the origins of the Aliens Act of 1905 (London, 1972).

Edward Higgs, Making sense of the census. The manuscript returns for England and Wales, 1801–1901 (London, 1989).

Edward Higgs, The information state in England: the central collection of information on citizens, 1500–2000 (London, 2004).

Edward Higgs, Making sense of the census revisited. Census records for England and Wales, 1801–1901 — a Handbook for Historical Researchers (London, 2005).

Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and the General Register Office, Edinburgh, Guide to Census Reports, Great Britain 1801–1966 (London, 1977).