Another milestone in computerizing records has been reached with the recent release of the 1881 Canadian Census. This census of 4.3 million people adds to the information net that, with the 1880 U.S. Census, stretches across North America for that time period.

The census, extracted by Church members in Canada and the United States, includes the then-existing provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. (The Northwest Territories in 1881 contained the current provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and parts of historical Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario, plus the Territory of Yukon and the western part of the Territory of Nunavut.)

The original census manuscripts were microfilmed by the National Archives of Canada and a copy was purchased by the Church. Later, various Canadian and U.S. wards and stakes extracted the census information from this microfilm. These data were entered into computer data bases, which were then processed as resource files by the Family and Church History Department for production on CD, similar to those released earlier by the Church. The Institute of Canadian Studies of the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, helped in cleaning up the data and preparing it for publication.

A search template includes names, age, gender, location at the time of the census, birthplace, ethnic origin, occupation, religious affiliation, marital status, and notations.

The information is listed in the order that it was taken, and Canadian poll takers gathered their facts going from door to door. The software allows for individual searches, head of household searches and neighbor searches, so that nearby residences can be searched for relatives.

The package includes Resource File Viewer 4.0, and three CDs and is available at distribution centers (50179) for $11.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEnJ%2BuqpOdu6bD0meaqKVfZ31xfo5vZmtqX2eAc4CRamhvZ2FthXJ5wpqlmpyZlrtur8Snqq6rXaeyrbHArJyd