Sydney, Town—Ville, Nova Scotia (1881 census)
Sydney, Town—Ville was a town in Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 3,667. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q932261. The administrative centroid was at approximately 46.073°N, 60.220°W.
Population
In 1881, Sydney, Town—Ville had a population of 3,667: 1,779 male and 1,888 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2,900 |
| 1881 | 3,667 |
| 1891 | 2,427 |
| 1901 | 9,909 |
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 Sydney Forks, 1891 (87.3% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Sydney, Town—Ville, 1891 (12.7% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Sydney, Town—Ville shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 50 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 5 categories.
Population & families (1881). This community's record includes 3,667 total population, 1,888 females, 1,779 males, 964 married persons, 627 families, 483 married males, 481 married females, 160 widowed persons, 125 widowed females, 35 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 2,543 single persons under 18, 1,282 single females under 18, 1,261 single males under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 589 inhabited houses, 589 occupied houses, 43 uninhabited houses, 16 houses under construction. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 53,247 bushels of potatoes, 17,545 bushels of oats, 3,894 bushels of turnips, 3,704 tons of hay, 3,139 bushels of spring wheat, 2,622 acres of hay crops, 1,125 bushels of other root crops, 872 bushels of barley, 504 acres of potatoes, 262 acres of wheat, 95 bushels of peas and beans, 72 bushels of winter wheat, 49 bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed, 47 bushels of buckwheat, 7 bushels of corn, 1 bushels of rye. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
Fisheries (1881). This community's record includes 7,068 fathoms of fishing nets, 1,722 quintals of cod, 1,525 barrels of herring or alewives, 649 gallons of fish oil, 264 quintals of haddock, hake, or pollock, 130 men on fishing boats, 104 fishing boats, 55 barrels of mackerel, 47 shoremen, 45 barrels of gaspareaux, 18 barrels of salmon, 16 barrels of eels, 13 barrels of halibut, 4 men on fishing vessels, 2 barrels of trout, 2 fishing vessels, 1 barrels of other fish. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T27.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 4 people connected to this place who were alive in 1881, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Hibbert Binney | 1819–1887 | born here |
| James Innes | 1833–1903 | died here |
| Sir John George Bourinot | 1836–1902 | born here |
| Archibald Russell | 1874–1901 | died here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 3,667 individuals enumerated here, with name, age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, birthplace, and occupation. Source: TCP/Dillon 1881 Canadian Census deposit at Borealis.
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS006016— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS028026— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q932261
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney,_Nova_Scotia
- Wikipédia (FR): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_(Nouvelle-%C3%89cosse)
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). "Sydney, Town—Ville, Nova Scotia (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/sydney-town-ville-ns006016-1881/.