Nelson, Ontario (1871 census)
Nelson was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1871 Census of Canada with a population of 4,619. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.406°N, 79.857°W.
Population
In 1871, Nelson had a population of 4,619: 2,394 male and 2,225 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 4,078 |
| 1861 | 4,559 |
| 1871 | 4,619 |
| 1881 | 3,340 |
| 1891 | 3,269 |
| 1901 | 2,776 |
| 1911 | 2,910 |
| 1921 | 3,356 |
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 Burlington, Village, 1881 (1.2% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1871
In the 1871 census, Nelson 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 4,619 total population, 2,394 males, 2,225 females, 1,442 married persons, 824 families, 726 married males, 716 married females, 170 widowed persons, 110 widowed females, 60 widowed males. (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1871). This community's record includes 3,007 single persons under 18, 1,608 single males under 18, 1,399 single females under 18. (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1871). This community's record includes 799 occupied houses, 792 inhabited houses, 31 uninhabited houses, 7 dwellings that are temporary shanties, 7 houses under construction. (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1871). This community's record includes 48,960 total area (acres). (Source: 1871 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
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 1871, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| George King Chisholm | 1814–1874 | born here |
| JOHN GENNINGS CURTIS ADAMS | 1839–1922 | died here |
| Jean Newton McIlwraith | d. 1938 | died here |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON038001— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON117003— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: not yet grounded. This page covers a place whose persistent identity has not yet been linked to a Wikidata entity. Identification is via TCP UID and spatial polygon only.
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). "Nelson, Ontario (1871 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/nelson-on038001-1871/.