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| Dorothy Irene Dean and Marjorie Elizabeth Dean; my great-aunt and grandmother who I have not been able to find in the 1931 census just yet. |
The 1931 Census of Canada was released on June 1st as anyone reading this probably already knows and I am so grateful. I have needed something positive to concentrate on lately and this census has kind of given me permission to stop and do something for myself for a little while every day.
Today over my morning coffee I took a few minutes to read complete entries for my great-grandmother's household and her eldest son's household next door and was reminded why it is important to remember that in addition to the census records themselves, we also have the instructions that were given to commissioners and enumerators. You can find them and download them if you like, from Internet Archive, where they are available in English and in French, one set for Canada and another for the Northwest Territories, parts of the Yukon, and other remote areas.
By 1930, my maternal grandfather's mother, Isabella Frances Parker Smith, was a widow. She was still living in the house that belonged to the Bell Asbestos Mine which my great-grandfather, George Robert Smith, had managed for decades before his death. Living with my great-grandmother were her three youngest children, including my grandfather, all of whom also worked for the Bell Mine.
Curiously, under the category Occupation, for Isabella it said "Revenu", French for income. Knowing she was left in a financial position where she did not have to work after her husband's death, I knew this entry probably referred to the fact that she had some pension income, investment income or savings, but I wanted to be sure. I was about to turn to a Facebook group when I realized I should be consulting the enumerator instructions instead and sure enough, there was my explanation for the term in this context:
If you have Canadian ancestors in this census I wish you happy hunting!
