Integrated Census Microdata Project now online

The Department of History at the University of Essex, using census data from FindmyPast, has uploaded a new database online entitled the Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM) project. The project allows users to obtain statistical information from the censuses from England and Wales from 1851-1861 and 1881-1911, and Scotland from 1851-1901. I've no idea why 1871 is missing from England and Wales, though FindmyPast does not host the 1911 Scottish census, explaining that one. I suspect 1841 has been omitted due to the vague answers required e.g. ages within 5 year ranges and of this parish or not of this parish as required birthplace information.

The project is outlined at http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/research/icem/default.htm whilst the database itself is accessible at http://icem.data-archive.ac.uk/#step1. It's another one of these sites that requires constant filtering, so be patient, but the data presented is fascinating - for example, in 1891, some 88 people only claimed to be monoglot Gaelic speakers in Glasgow, 12,513 claimed to have both Gaelic and English, and 557,182 had only English - whilst one person had Yiddish only, and one was bilingual between English and Welsh!

A detailed user guide is available at http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/research/ICeM/documents/icem_guide.pdf - the project does not seem to be complete - I can't find the Western Isles for example, included, but that may be to do with the project methodology, and how the data has been presented, so I will keep looking. Nevertheless, a very useful tool.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.