Chester, Nova Scotia (1891 census)
Chester was a census subdivision in Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1891 Census of Canada with a population of 3,050. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q1070656. The administrative centroid was at approximately 44.635°N, 64.320°W.
Population
In 1891, Chester had a population of 3,050: 1,557 male and 1,493 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2,846 |
| 1881 | 2,974 |
| 1891 | 3,050 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Boundary continuity (non-identical overlaps)
Spatial polygon overlaps with adjacent census years where the boundary shifted enough that the SAME_AS chain didn't merge them. These show where the territory came from and went to even when it isn't tracked as the same persistent place.
Later boundary forms
- In a later year, this CSD contained Western Shore, 1901 (6.5% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Chester, West—Ouest, 1901 (30.5% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Chester Basin, 1901 (47.5% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Chester, East—Est, 1901 (15.5% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1891
In the 1891 census, Chester shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1891
The 1891 census recorded 80 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 5 categories.
Population & families (1891). This community's record includes 3,050 total population, 1,557 males, 1,493 females, 1,056 married persons, 560 families, 528 married females, 528 married males, 111 widowed persons, 82 widowed females, 29 widowed males, 5.40 average size of families. (Source: 1891 Census of Canada, V1T2; V1T3.)
Age structure (1891). This community's record includes 1,883 single persons under 18, 1,000 single males under 18, 883 single females under 18. (Source: 1891 Census of Canada, V1T3.)
Ethnic origin (1891). This community's record includes 3,050 persons who are not French Canadian. (Source: 1891 Census of Canada, V1T3.)
Buildings & housing (1891). This community's record includes 548 occupied houses, 544 houses, 544 houses built of wood, 512 houses of 1 story, 306 houses of 6 to 10 rooms, 140 houses of 4 rooms, 54 houses of 5 rooms, 31 houses of 2 stories, 18 houses under construction, 17 houses of 11 to 15 rooms, 17 houses of 3 rooms, 12 uninhabited houses, 7 houses of 2 rooms, 4 dwellings that are vessels and shanties, 3 houses of over 15 rooms, 1 houses of 3 stories. (Source: 1891 Census of Canada, V1T2.)
Agriculture (1891). This community's record includes 52,762 pounds of homemade butter, 37,447 acres of land in farms, 28,370 acres of farmland in woodland or forest, 23,600 bushels of potatoes, 9,077 acres of improved land in farms, 5,989 bushels of turnips, 5,344 acres of farmland in pasture, 5,171 bushels of barley, 4,397 pounds of fine wool produced on farms, 4,310 chickens, 3,599 acres of farmland under crops, 2,577 tons of hay, 2,334 acres of hay crops, 1,724 sheep, 1,367 bushels of oats, 778 other cattle, 754 sheep slaughtered or sold, 565 milk cows, 525 occupants of farms, 464 farm occupants who own their land, 447 swine, 435 oxen, 415 swine slaughtered or sold, 300 cattle killed or sold, 300 geese, 225 acres of potatoes, 198 persons living on farms under 10 acres, 174 acres of barley, 162 pounds of coarse wool produced on farms, 138 horses aged over 3 years, 136 persons living on farms between 11 and 50 acres, 135 bushels of buckwheat, 134 acres of farmland in gardens or orchards, 128 bushels of beans, 87 persons living on farms between 51 and 100 acres, 64 bushels of peas, 60 farm occupants who rent their land, 54 persons living on farms between 101 and 200 acres, 50 persons living on farms over 200 acres, 49 acres of oats, 47 ducks, 44 acres of turnips, 21 bushels of rye, 18 horses aged 3 years and under, 8 turkeys, 6 bushels of spring wheat, 5 other fowl, 3 bushels of corn, 1 employees on farms. (Source: 1891 Census of Canada, V2T16; V4T2; V4T3.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 3 people connected to this place who were alive in 1891, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Mather Byles DesBrisay | 1828–1900 | born here |
| Robert Sedgewick | 1848–1906 | died here |
| Robert Winkworth Norwood | 1874–1932 | born here |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS038004— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS038004— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q1070656
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1891 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). "Chester, Nova Scotia (1891 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/chester-ns038004-1891/.