Chester, Nova Scotia (1871 census)
Chester was a census subdivision in Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1871 Census of Canada with a population of 2,846. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q1070656. The administrative centroid was at approximately 44.635°N, 64.320°W.
Population
In 1871, Chester had a population of 2,846: 1,433 male and 1,413 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.
Earlier boundary forms
- In an earlier year, this CSD was contained in NO DATA, 1861 (1.1% share).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1871
In the 1871 census, Chester shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1871
The 1871 census recorded 19 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1871). This community's record includes 2,846 total population, 1,433 males, 1,413 females, 877 married persons, 478 families, 440 married males, 437 married females, 109 widowed persons, 71 widowed females, 38 widowed males. (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1871). This community's record includes 1,860 single persons under 18, 955 single males under 18, 905 single females under 18. (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1871). This community's record includes 422 occupied houses, 418 inhabited houses, 8 uninhabited houses, 5 houses under construction, 4 dwellings that are temporary shanties. (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1871). This community's record includes 174,000 total area (acres). (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 2 people connected to this place who were alive in 1871, 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 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS195012— 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 1871 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 (1871 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/chester-ns195012-1871/.