Richmond County Established in 1758
ChatGPT: Richmond County in Nova Scotia, Canada, was officially established on August 17, 1758. It was named after Charles Lennox, the 3rd Duke of Richmond, who was Master-General of the Ordnance during the Seven Years' War. The county was established as part of the administrative divisions during the colonial period.
Relevant Censuses at Archives Canada
For a list of censuses relevant to Acadia and the Bourg family, try https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Acadian_Census_Links_and_Lists
Censuses of 1811 and 1818
In the Census of 1811, many family names appear (i.e. Bourcq, Landry, Samson, etc.). In District 6 River Bourgeois, St.Peter's, these Bourcqs can be found...
(Links to a search engine at the NS Archives, for other districts as well.)
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
| Head of family |
Joseph Bourcq
|
Peter Bourcq
|
John Bourcq
|
| Occupation |
Fisherman
|
Fisherman
|
Fisherman
|
| Males between 14 and 60 years |
1
|
1
|
1
|
| Females between 14 and 60 years |
0
|
1
|
1
|
| Males and females unmarried |
4
|
2
|
1
|
| Males and females above 60 years |
1
|
0
|
0
|
| Males under 14 years |
3
|
2
|
0
|
| Females under 14 years |
1
|
0
|
1
|
| Male and female servants |
0
|
0
|
0
|
| Cattle |
3
|
3
|
1
|
| Sheep |
5
|
6
|
1
|
| Horses |
0
|
0
|
0
|
| Vessels |
1
|
0
|
0
|
| Station |
River Bourgeois
|
River Bourgeois
|
River Bourgeois
|
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Deductively, some observations and confirmations can be made...
1) that Joseph was the owner of the boat they were using (but other records show that he co-owned the boat with Peter Bourcq (relationship unsure, possibly brother Pierre or his father Pierre), and the boat was the Nancy).
2) that all three men were married, but the census was taken after Joseph's first wife (Ruffine Landry) had died, and before he had remarried (to Anne Boucher, in 1812).
3) that one male over 60 years of age lived with Joseph (in fact, his father Pierre)
4) that it was common to farm and raise animals while being a fisherman
Neighbours of the Bourcqs included families with these names : Landry, Samson, DuGat, Bouche, Fougere, Babin, Pitre, Kavanagh (merchant), Sutherland, Herring, Riley, Wheeling, and Thomas. Two other households were headed by widow Mary Landry and the widow of John Samson.
The entire population of River Bourgeois at this time was approximately 250.
Census for Nova Scotia, dated 1861.
Searching for names in this census period may be difficult due to spelling and the interpretation done by the transcriber.
Heads of families are reported with information about their households is available.
The entries for the Thibeau family can be found on the Thibeau page.
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
Report of the Secretary of the Board of Statistics on the Census of Nova Scotia, 1861.
Here is a link to the 330-page readable online document that contains a vast amount of information on this period. There is an offline copy as part of this site if the link fails.
This census was taken on March 30, 1861. From this one paragraph of its introduction, one can see what kind of information was being sought about people...
1st. Personal Census.
The most difficult and tedious part of the work was the classification of the ages, deaths, marriages, deaf and dumb, blind, lunatics, idiots, &c, distinguishing between male and female, married and single, widowers and widows; also the number between 5 and 15 years of age, and above 15, who could not read and write, which arrangement in one abstract, occupies no fewer than 150 columns. Next comes the classifications of origin, religions, trades and occupations, deaths and causes of deaths, each requiring separate abstracts.
This couplet, header and data, shows the population of River Bourgeois and area, broken down into specifics. 415 males, 435 females, 849 total.
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Below is a helpful page from the report describing causes of death. I expect that the statistics improve greatly approaching modern times.
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Below is a sample page tallying bushels of important crops.
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Below is one last example, a report on fishery activities.
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So, a terrific report all in all, but not one that will help much when looking for ancestors.
Census of Canada, Province of Nova Scotia, District 206, Richmond County, River Bourgeois - portions of interest...
Dated 1871.
| Husband, Damian Burk |
age 50
|
Fisherman
|
| Wife, Domitille (Mrs) |
age 50
|
--
|
| Daughter, Sarah |
age 22
|
|
| Daughter, Annie |
age 21
|
|
| Daughter, Olive |
age 19
|
|
| Son, Damien |
age 17
|
Fisherman
|
| Daughter, Carlott (Charlotte?) |
age 18
|
|
| Son, Amie |
age 13
|
|
| Son, Abraham |
age 10
|
Note: husband, wife, and two eldest daughters reported as unable to read or write. Caveat: which language - French, English or both?
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From page 46.
These are links to the Library and Archives Canada where the original 1871 River Bourgeois census pages can be viewed in PDF format.
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
Census of Canada, Province of Nova Scotia, District No. 7, Richmond County, River Bourgeois - portions of interest...
Dated 1881.
| Husband, Damian Burk |
age 62
|
Fisherman
|
| Wife, Domitille |
age 61
|
--
|
| Son, Damien |
age 27
|
Fisherman
|
| Daughter, should be Anne at this age, reads Charlotte? |
age 20
|
|
| Son, Abraham |
age 19
|
|
| Son, Charles |
age 16
|
|
| Son, Cyprien |
age 14
|
 |
From page 38.
These are links to the Library and Archives Canada where the original 1881 River Bourgeois census pages can be viewed in PDF format.
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
Census of Canada, Province of Nova Scotia, District No. 41 Richmond, Sub-District No. 6, River Bourgeois - portions of interest...
Taken by Daniel Sampson, April 6, 1891. 225 families recorded.
| Husband, Damian Burk |
age 70
|
Fisherman
|
| Wife, Domitille |
age 69
|
--
|
| Son, Charles |
age 28
|
Fisherman
|
 |
From page 27.
| Husband, John Thebo |
age 32
|
Labourer, lobster factory
|
| Wife, Annie |
age 20
|
--
|
| Daughter, Ellen Jane |
age 4
|
--
|
| Son, John Henry |
age 1
|
--
|
| Mother, Susan |
age 58
|
--
|
Note the consecutive entries for brothers Peter, John and Patrick.
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This page has a translated version of the 1891 census for River Bourgeois.
These are links to the Library and Archives Canada where the original 1891 River Bourgeois census pages can be viewed in PDF format.
Online PDFs contain information on many Bourg family members and their neighbours.
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
This link goes to a starter page where surname searches can be done.
This link goes to the full page from which the snippet below was taken.
An example of information available is presented here.
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The census as transcribed by Paul C Landry July 2002.
Census of 1911, Richmond County
Online PDFs contain information on many Bourg family members and their neighbours.
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
This link goes to a starter page where surname searches can be done.
This link goes to the full page from which the snippet below was taken.
An example of information available is presented here.
Ellen Jane Thibeau married Abraham Alfred Damien Burke on January 8th, 1908. In the 1911 census, she appears as Ellen Jane Bourque. She appears in the 1921 and 1931 censuses as Ellen Jane Burke also. She should appear in the 1941 census when it is released in 2033, but she passed away in 1942 so that will be her last census appearance.
In this snippet from the 1911 Census, the family name is spelled "Bourque". Making him harder to find, Damien has been anglicized to become Damian. Ann is Celeste Anne. The first two daughters of Fred and Ellen Jane, Lillian and Angela, are mentioned. Fred and his father Damien are both noted as being fishermen. Family members are noted as being French Roman Catholics. Note: "Cannes" is a municipal division of River Bourgeois, on the south side.
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A column-by-column explanation of what is being asked of those enumerated can be viewed here.
Column 33: months in school in last year. Column 34: Can read. Column 35: Can write. Column 36: Language Commonly Spoken
Since this is a transitional moment for Ellen Jane, moving from the Thibeau family household to the Burke family household, it is interesting to look at this block of columns from the census - about education and language. It seems that Ellen Jane brought the English language to my mother, my family. This suggests that the Thibeau household Ellen Jane grew up in spoke English. I suspect that Fred was also bilingual, though, speaking French while with his parents. I read the report as saying...
| Damian Bourque, cannot read or write, communicates in French. |
|
Eugenie Bourque, cannot read or write, communicates in French. |
|
(Celeste Anne), in school, can read and write, communicates in French. |
| Fred Bourque, can read and write, communicates in French. |
|
Ellen Jane (Thibeau), can read and write, communicates in French and English. |
|
Lillian Bourque (age 2). |
|
Angela Bourque (age 12 months). |
Later columns about health, physical and mental, are interesting.
Column 38: Blind. Column 39: Deaf and Dumb. Column 40: Crazy or Lunatic. Column 41: Idiotic or Silly
Census of 1921, Richmond County
Online PDFs contain information on many Burke family members and their neighbours.
Canada's census search engine can be found at this link.
Click on the image to open a local copy of the page that shows Damien and Eugenie Burke, ages 68 and 63.
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Click on this image to view a local copy of the page that shows the family of Fred and Ellen Jane Burke.
Note: Delta Thibeau is Ellen Jane's sister. A picture on the Thibeau page showing Delta holding infant Lou with my mother Theresa
looks to have been taken in 1929. Shown here as a boarder, it may be that Delta lived with the family for eight years or more.
Abbreviated version with headers. Abbreviated version, names and ages.
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Click on this image to view a local copy of the page that shows the family of Peter and Celeste Anne Landry.
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Census of 1931, Richmond County
(Available as of June, 2023.)
Online PDFs contain information on many Burke family members and their neighbours.
This link goes to the search page for the 1931 census. In particilar, it will open on images of pages about River Bourgeois.
Click on this image to view a local copy of the page that shows Damien and Eugenie Burke, ages 78 and 73. Damien is a fisherman and has a schooner.
Theresa Burke would have been 6 years old at the time. See the family portrait taken c1930 for imagery.
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This link goes to the search page for the 1931 census. In particilar, it will open on images of pages about Louisdale.
Click on this image to view a local copy of the page that shows the family of Fred and Ellen Jane Burke.
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Theresa Burke would have been 6 years old at the time. See the family portrait taken c1930 for imagery.
Click on this image to view a local copy of the page that shows Celeste Anne (Burke), husband Petery Landry, and children (noteably Leo, age 9).
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