Westminster, Ontario (1851 census)
Westminster was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1851 Census of Canada with a population of 5,069. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q7989101. The administrative centroid was at approximately 42.912°N, 81.225°W.
Population
In 1851, Westminster had a population of 5,069: 2,731 male and 2,338 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 5,069 |
| 1861 | 6,285 |
| 1871 | 6,386 |
| 1881 | 7,892 |
| 1891 | 8,506 |
| 1901 | 4,730 |
| 1911 | 5,019 |
| 1921 | 5,687 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1851
In the 1851 census, Westminster shared boundaries with:
- Delaware
- Dorchester
- Dorchester, North
- London
- London, St. Andrew’s Ward
- London, St. George’s Ward
- Southwold
- Yarmouth
Full census record, 1851
The 1851 census recorded 194 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories.
Population & families (1851). This community's record includes 5,069 total population, 2,731 males, Male members of the family who are present: 2,477, 2,338 females, Female members of the family who are present: 2,163, 1,890 single males, 1,483 single females, 819 families, 778 married males, 775 married females, 640 males attending school, 492 females attending school, Males present who are not members of the family: 254, Females present who are not members of the family: 175, 110 male births, 92 female births, 80 widowed females, 63 widowed males, Female members of the family who are absent: 48, Male members of the family who are present: 48, 5 deaf and dumb males, 3 blind females, 2 blind males, 2 lunatic males, 1 lunatic females. (Source: 1851 Census of Canada, V1T3.)
Age structure (1851). This community's record includes 404 males aged 5 to 10, 363 females aged 5 to 10, 357 single males aged 10 to 15, 299 single females aged 10 to 15, 286 single males aged 15 to 20, 272 single males aged 20 to 30, 238 married females aged 20 to 30, 231 married females aged 30 to 40, 230 single females aged 15 to 20, 229 married males aged 30 to 40, 200 married males aged 40 to 50, 145 single females aged 20 to 30, 140 married females aged 40 to 50, 134 married males aged 50 to 60, 129 married males aged 20 to 30, 102 males under age 1, 99 males aged 2 to 3, 96 married females aged 50 to 60, 95 males aged 4 to 5, 93 females under age 1, 92 males aged 3 to 4, 84 females aged 1 to 2, 84 males aged 1 to 2, 76 females age 3 to 4, 74 females aged 2 to 3, 73 females aged 4 to 5, 62 married males aged 60 to 70, 44 single males aged 30 to 40, 37 married females aged 60 to 70, 23 married females aged 15 to 20, 22 females of unknown age, 22 single males aged 40 to 50, 20 males of unknown age, 19 married males aged 70 to 80, 19 widowed males aged 60 to 70, 18 widowed females aged 70 to 80, 17 widowed females aged 60 to 70, 15 widowed females aged 40 to 50, 11 single females aged 30 to 40, 11 widowed males aged 30 to 40, 10 single males aged 50 to 60, 10 widowed males aged 40 to 50, 10 widowed males aged 50 to 60, 9 married females aged 70 to 80, 9 widowed females aged 50 to 60, 7 widowed females aged 20 to 30, 7 widowed females aged 30 to 40, 7 widowed males aged 70 to 80, 6 single females aged 50 to 60, 6 widowed females aged 80 to 90, 5 widowed males aged 80 to 90, 4 married males aged 80 to 90, 4 single females aged 60 to 70, 2 single females aged 40 to 50, 2 single males aged 70 to 80, 1 married females aged 80 to 90, 1 married males aged 90 to 100, 1 single females aged 70 to 80, 1 single males aged 60 to 70, 1 widowed females aged 90 to 100, 1 widowed males aged 90 to 100. (Source: 1851 Census of Canada, V1T3.)
Ethnic origin (1851). This community's record includes 2,953 persons native to Canada, not of French origin, 707 persons originating in Scotland, 568 persons originating in England or Wales, 378 persons originating in the United States, 376 persons originating in Ireland, 59 persons originating in Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island, 10 persons whose origin is unknown, 8 persons originating in Germany or Holland, 5 persons originating in the West Indies. (Source: 1851 Census of Canada, V1T1.) The 1851 enumerator also recorded 3 persons originating in Jersey or other British islands — single-county tallies of limited cross-year comparability.
Agriculture (1851). This community's record includes 131,742 pounds of homemade butter, 103,207 bushels of wheat, 96,693 bushels of oats, 63,082 acres of land in farms, 41,631 pounds of maple sugar, 34,252 acres of farmland in woodland or forest, 34,020 bushels of turnips, 32,666 pounds of wool produced on farms, 28,830 acres of farmland under cultivation, 27,880 bushels of peas, 21,438 acres of farmland under crops, 19,158 bushels of potatoes, 18,780 pounds of cheese produced on farms, 12,131 bushels of corn, 10,023 sheep, 6,746 acres of farmland in pasture, 6,686 bushels of barley, 5,799 tons of hay, 5,381 acres of wheat, 4,405 swine, 4,368 bushels of rye, 3,824 bushels of buckwheat, 3,760 gallons of cider, 3,237 acres of oats, 3,159 barrels of pork, 1,664 horses, 1,647 acres of peas, 1,390 bulls, oxen, or steers, 1,201 milk cows, 1,108 calves and heifers, 910 barrels of beef, 646 acres of farmland in gardens or orchards, 643 occupants of farms, 572 acres of corn, 383 acres of potatoes, 346 acres of rye, 290 persons living on farms between 50 and 100 acres, 276 acres of barley, 247 acres of buckwheat, 220 bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed, 187 bushels of beans, 173 bushels of carrots, 145 acres of turnips, 128 persons living on farms between 100 and 200 acres, 126 persons living on farms between 20 and 50 acres, 122 pounds of flax or hemp, 62 bushels of mangel wurtzel, 56 persons living on farms under 10 acres, 44 pounds of hops, 22 persons living on farms between 10 and 20 acres, 21 persons living on farms over 200 acres. (Source: 1851 Census of Canada, V2T6.)
Manufacturing & industry (1851). This community's record includes 9,000 yards of flannel, 7,000 yards of cloth produced in woollen factories, 3,297 yards of fulled cloth, 7 employees in woollen factories, 3 grist mills, 3 grist mills not reporting, 3 grist mills powered by water, 2 employees in tanneries, 1 carding and fulling mills, 1 carding and fulling mills not reporting, 1 distilleries, 1 distilleries reporting, 1 employees in grist mills, 1 employees in saw mills, 1 saw mills, 1 saw mills not reporting, 1 saw mills powered by water, 1 tanneries, 1 tanneries reporting, 1 woollen factories, 1 woollen factories reporting. $1,500 value leather produced in tanneries in the past year (pounds sterling). (Source: 1851 Census of Canada, V2T6; V2T7.) The 1851 enumerator also recorded 12,000 gallons of liquor produced in distilleries — single-county tallies of limited cross-year comparability.
Deaths & mortality (1851). This community's record includes 55 total number of deaths, Deaths in the past year among males of all ages: 32, Deaths in the past year among females of all ages: 23, Deaths in the past year among females under age 1: 9, Deaths in the past year among males under age 1: 7, Deaths in the past year among females aged 30 to 40: 5, Deaths in the past year among males aged 20 to 30: 5, Deaths in the past year among females aged 20 to 30: 4, Deaths in the past year among males aged 70 to 80: 4, Deaths in the past year among males aged 1 to 2: 3, Deaths in the past year among males aged 50 to 60: 3, Deaths in the past year among males aged 30 to 40: 2, Deaths in the past year among males of unknown age: 2, Deaths in the past year among females aged 2 to 3: 1, Deaths in the past year among females aged 5 to 10: 1, Deaths in the past year among females aged 60 to 70: 1, Deaths in the past year among females aged 80 to 90: 1, Deaths in the past year among females of unknown age: 1, Deaths in the past year among males aged 10 to 15: 1, Deaths in the past year among males aged 15 to 20: 1, Deaths in the past year among males aged 2 to 3: 1, Deaths in the past year among males aged 40 to 50: 1, Deaths in the past year among males aged 5 to 10: 1, Deaths in the past year among males aged 80 to 90: 1. (Source: 1851 Census of Canada, V1T3.)
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 1851, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Dennis O’Brien | 1792–1865 | died here |
| John Wilson | 1807–1869 | died here |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON023011— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON128013— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q7989101
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster,_Middlesex_County,_Ontario
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1851 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). "Westminster, Ontario (1851 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/westminster-on023011-1851/.