Fergus, VL, Ontario (1881 census)
Fergus, VL was a village in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 1,733. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q5444155. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.708°N, 80.382°W.
Population
In 1881, Fergus, VL had a population of 1,733: 877 male and 856 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1,117 |
| 1871 | 1,666 |
| 1881 | 1,733 |
| 1891 | 1,598 |
| 1901 | 1,396 |
| 1911 | 1,534 |
| 1921 | 1,796 |
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, Fergus, VL shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 30 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1881). This community's record includes 1,733 total population, 877 males, 856 females, 513 married persons, 334 families, 257 married females, 256 married males, 85 widowed persons, 64 widowed females, 21 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 1,135 single persons under 18, 600 single males under 18, 535 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 332 inhabited houses, 332 occupied houses, 19 uninhabited houses, 4 houses under construction. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 3,726 bushels of potatoes, 2,167 bushels of turnips, 1,666 bushels of oats, 1,501 bushels of other root crops, 650 bushels of peas and beans, 620 bushels of spring wheat, 425 bushels of barley, 217 tons of hay, 150 bushels of winter wheat, 128 acres of hay crops, 50 acres of wheat, 33 acres of potatoes, 30 bushels of corn. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
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 1881, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel James MacDonnell | 1843–1896 | died here |
| Jean Isabelle Dow | 1870–1927 | born here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 1,733 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:
ON152002— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON152022— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q5444155
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus,_Ontario
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). "Fergus, VL, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/fergus-vl-on152002-1881/.