Censuses are among the most important records for tracing your family history. They have changed a little over time, but in general they are invaluable for showing who the various members of a family were, where they lived, where they came from, and what they did for a living.

Censuses have been taken every 10 years since 1801, except during the Second World War. The first few were little more than a head count, so the useful ones for learning about your ancestors start in 1841. All of the censuses for England and Wales from 1841 to 1911 are online. In most cases what survive today are the enumerators’ books which list people by house, street and parish, rather than the actual forms which the householders filled in.

The 1841 census was the simplest, for two reasons: for anyone over 14 it only shows their age to the nearest five years; also, the birthplace column just shows whether they were born in the same county as where they were living.

From 1851, the parish and county of birth were listed (or just country if Scotland, Ireland or elsewhere). Censuses also indicate whether people had some physical or mental infirmity, and from 1891 add more details about employment. Unusually, the 1911 records available include the original householders’ forms – so you may see your forebear’s signature.