Series 86-026 - Canada. 1891 Victoria, Peterborough, Northumberland and Durham Counties Census

Census taking in Canada was divided into enumeration districts which were usually located around cities and counties. The districts were divided in sub-districts which were usually located around towns, townships and city wards. Villages, small towns, parishes and seigneuries were generally enumerated as part of the township in which they were located. Census and county boundaries did not always coincide since boundaries and town names changed or disappeared. The first census in Canada was undertaken in 1666 by Intendant Jean Talon. Census taking was not required until it was put into the Constitution in 1867. Before 1867 census taking was sketchy and it was not until 1851 that it became established as a way of assessing population and colonial needs for the government. (Taken from: "Census Returns, 1666-1891." Public Archives, Canada, 1987.)

In 1792, the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham were officially created in a proclamation made by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. The proclamation divided Upper Canada into 19 Counties for representation purposes. The United Counties are bounded by Lake Ontario in the south, Hasting County in the east, Ontario County in the west and Peterborough and Victoria Counties in the north. The town line between Hope and Hamilton Townships divide the two counties. Durham County consists of the Townships of Cartwright, Manvers, Cavan, Darlington, Clarke and Hope. Northumberland County consists of South Monaghan, Hamilton, Haldimand, Alnwick, Percy, Cramahe, Seymour, Brighton and Murray Townships. (Taken from: "Illustrated Historical Atlas of Northumberland and Durham Counties, Ontario." Belleville: Mika Silk Screening Limited, 1972.) The land which is now Peterborough County was originally part of Newcastle District before 1841, and the Colbourne District until 1850, the year when districts were replaced by counties in Upper Canada. At this time the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria was created. In 1861, Victoria County was given independence from Peterborough. Peterbourgh County is made up of the following townships: Galway, Cavendish, Anstruther, Chandos, Harvey, Burleigh, Methuen, Ennismore, Smith, Douro, Dummer, Belmont, North Monaghan, Otonabee, and Asphodel. (taken from "Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County 1825-1875." Peterborough: The Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation Inc., 1975.) Victoria County, formally established in 1860, is comprised of the Townships of Bexley, Carden, Dalton, Eldon, Emily, Fenelon, Laxton, Digby, Longford, Manvers, Mariposa, Ops, Somerville, and Verulam. The town of Lindsay in Ops Township is the county seat. The County is bordered in the north by the Muskoka District, in the east by Haliburton and Peterborough Counties, in the south by Lake Scugog and the Regional Municipality of Durham, and in the west by Durham and Simcoe Counties. It is 2,169 km square in area. The land in Victoria County was first opened for settlement in 1821 and the first settlers were mainly Irish, both Protestant and Catholic, and Scottish Presbyterians. By 1880, lumbering was firmly established as the main industry in the county. Quickly the region was stripped of its forests, and it was not until the 1920's that an interest in reforestation developed. Today, Victoria County is a prime grain producing region. As well, chemical industries and tourism make up the present day economic picture of the county. (Taken from: Mika, Nick and Helma. "Places in Ontario, Part III." Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1983.) Hastings County was proclaimed the 11th county of Upper Canada in 1792. The second largest county in Ontario, it includes nineteen municipal townships: Bangor, Wicklow and McClure, Carlow, Dungannon, Elzevir and Grimsthorpe, Faraday, Hershal, Hungerford, Huntingdon, Limerick, Madoc, Marmora and Lake, Mayo; Monteagle, Rawdon, Sidney, Thurlow, Tudor and Cashel, Tyendinaga, and Wollaston. Hastings was named after a military leader who had fought in the American Revolution, Francis Rawdon-Hastings (1754-1826). His family name was taken from the town of Hastings in Sussex, England. Until 1849 Hastings County was called the Victoria District. This was changed at that time by the Baldwin Act which replaced district councils with county councils. The first major industry in Hastings County was agriculture, and this was well-established by 1860, with Belleville having the largest saw mills west of Ottawa. Around this time, mining became an important attraction for new settlers, with the extraction of gold at Eldorado, Deloro, Gilmour, and Cordova. Once the Grand Trunk Railway began making stops in Belleville in 1856, the economy of the county improved immensely. Today tourism, lumbering and mining are the major industries of the county. (Taken from: Mika, Nick and Helma. "Places on Ontario, Part II." Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1981.)