Chatham, New Brunswick (1881 census)
Chatham was a census subdivision in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 5,762. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q3365797. The administrative centroid was at approximately 47.021°N, 65.445°W.
Population
In 1881, Chatham had a population of 5,762: 2,943 male and 2,819 female residents. Population density was 156.7 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Chatham shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 94 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| FAM NO | 1,057 |
| Number of families | 1,057 |
| Number of females | 2,819 |
| Number of males | 2,943 |
| Number of married females | 865 |
| Number of married males | 859 |
| Number of married persons | 1,724 |
| Number of widowed females | 192 |
| Number of widowed males | 78 |
| Number of widowed persons | 270 |
| POP TOT | 5,762 |
| Total population | 5,762 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 1,762 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 2,006 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 3,768 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 6 |
| Number of houses under construction | 12 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 947 |
| Number of occupied houses | 953 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 38 |
Agriculture (26 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 2,527 |
| Acres of potatoes | 402 |
| Acres of wheat | 685 |
| BAR BU | 82 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 82 |
| Bushels of buckwheat produced in the past year | 964 |
| Bushels of corn produced in the past year | 31 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 23,957 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 1,846 |
| Bushels of peas and beans produced in the past year | 296 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 49,810 |
| Bushels of rye produced in the past year | 25 |
| Bushels of spring wheat produced in the past year | 1,948 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 5,473 |
| BWT BU | 964 |
| CRN BU | 31 |
| HAY AC | 2,527 |
| HAY TONS | 2,822 |
| OAT BU | 23,957 |
| PEA AND BEN BU | 296 |
| POT AC | 402 |
| POT BU | 49,810 |
| RYE BU | 25 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 2,822 |
| WHT AC | 685 |
| WHT SP BU | 1,948 |
Fisheries (14 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Barrels of eels produced in the past year | 5 |
| Barrels of gaspareaux produced in the past year | 145 |
| Barrels of herring or alewives produced in the past year | 84 |
| Barrels of mackerel produced in the past year | 30 |
| Barrels of other fish produced in the past year | 2,575 |
| Barrels of oysters produced in the past year | 1,318 |
| Barrels of salmon produced in the past year | 137 |
| Barrels of shad produced in the past year | 1 |
| Barrels of trout produced in the past year | 2 |
| Fathoms of fishing nets | 8,685 |
| Number of fishing boats | 41 |
| Number of men on fishing boats | 56 |
| Pounds of lobster canned in the past year | 146,000 |
| Quintals of cod produced in the past year | 117 |
Other recorded variables (34 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| BBL HERR OR ALE | 84 |
| BOAT MEN Q | 56 |
| BOATS FOR FISH | 41 |
| C UNMD F | 1,762 |
| C UNMD M | 2,006 |
| C UNMD TOT | 3,768 |
| CD NAME | Northumberland |
| COD DX K | 117 |
| D OCC | 953 |
| EEL XB Q | 5 |
| FEMALE | 2,819 |
| GSP XB Q | 145 |
| H CON | 12 |
| H INHAB | 947 |
| H UNINH | 38 |
| LOB XC P | 146,000 |
| MALE | 2,943 |
| MCK XB Q | 30 |
| MD F | 865 |
| MD M | 859 |
| MD TOT | 1,724 |
| NET XX F | 8,685 |
| NUMBER CD | 35 |
| OTHFISH XB Q | 2,575 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 1,846 |
| OYS XB Q | 1,318 |
| SHAN | 6 |
| SHD XB Q | 1 |
| SLM XB Q | 137 |
| TRT XB Q | 2 |
| TUR BU | 5,473 |
| WID F | 192 |
| WID M | 78 |
| WID TOT | 270 |
Identifiers
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1881 Census of Canada, transcribed and georeferenced by the
Canadian Peoples / TCP project,
hosted at the HGIS Lab, University of Saskatchewan.
Persistent place identity computed from spatial-overlap chains across all available census years (1851–1921).
Identity grounding to Wikidata performed via the
HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph
project's MCP-assisted disambiguation pipeline. See the About / Methodology
page for the full data pipeline.
Cite this page
Clifford, J. (2026). "Chatham, New Brunswick (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph.
Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/nb/chatham-nb035010-1881/.