Grimsby, Ontario (1881 census)
Grimsby was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 2,416. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q424901. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.148°N, 79.589°W.
Population
In 1881, Grimsby had a population of 2,416: 1,249 male and 1,167 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 2,448 |
| 1861 | 3,005 |
| 1871 | 3,123 |
| 1881 | 2,416 |
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 Grimsby S, 1891 (53.9% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Grimsby N, 1891 (46.1% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Grimsby shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 34 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1881). This community's record includes 2,416 total population, 1,249 males, 1,167 females, 900 married persons, 509 families, 451 married males, 449 married females, 95 widowed persons, 65 widowed females, 30 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 1,421 single persons under 18, 768 single males under 18, 653 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 508 occupied houses, 507 inhabited houses, 20 uninhabited houses, 4 houses under construction, 1 dwellings that are temporary shanties. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 72,774 bushels of oats, 69,988 bushels of winter wheat, 35,366 bushels of corn, 13,060 bushels of barley, 11,585 bushels of other root crops, 11,025 bushels of potatoes, 10,280 bushels of turnips, 4,103 acres of wheat, 4,044 tons of hay, 4,002 acres of hay crops, 2,557 bushels of peas and beans, 1,597 bushels of buckwheat, 1,265 bushels of spring wheat, 1,205 bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed, 687 bushels of rye, 160 acres of potatoes. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
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 1881, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Abram Nelles | 1805–1884 | born here |
| Dennis Moore | 1817–1887 | born here |
| James A. Fahey | 1849–1888 | born here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 2,405 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:
ON145005— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON145005— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q424901
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimsby,_Ontario
- Wikipédia (FR): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimsby_(Canada)
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). "Grimsby, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/grimsby-on145005-1881/.