Tay, Ontario (1881 census)
Tay was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 2,993. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q115262963. The administrative centroid was at approximately 44.733°N, 79.778°W.
Population
In 1881, Tay had a population of 2,993: 1,577 male and 1,416 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 600 |
| 1871 | 1,629 |
| 1881 | 2,993 |
| 1891 | 4,714 |
| 1901 | 5,442 |
| 1911 | 5,245 |
| 1921 | 3,159 |
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, Tay 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 2,993 total population, 1,577 males, 1,416 females, 984 married persons, 546 families, 493 married males, 491 married females, 74 widowed persons, 49 widowed females, 25 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 1,935 single persons under 18, 1,059 single males under 18, 876 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 518 occupied houses, 514 inhabited houses, 18 uninhabited houses, 6 houses under construction, 4 dwellings that are temporary shanties. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 28,890 bushels of oats, 22,856 bushels of potatoes, 13,221 bushels of turnips, 10,370 bushels of peas and beans, 9,515 bushels of spring wheat, 4,879 bushels of winter wheat, 4,500 bushels of barley, 1,745 tons of hay, 1,590 acres of hay crops, 1,452 acres of wheat, 980 bushels of corn, 455 bushels of other root crops, 230 bushels of buckwheat, 220 acres of potatoes, 180 bushels of rye, 26 bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed. (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas McCrosson | 1827–1905 | died here |
| Dennis Ambrose O’Sullivan | 1848–1892 | died here |
| Jean-Baptiste Nolin | 1849–1914 | died here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 2,994 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:
ON139010— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON144012— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q115262963
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). "Tay, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/tay-on139010-1881/.