How Many Lived under the Typical Farmhouse Roof?

Investigating the Census of 1836 to Find Out

 
One way to determine the size of the typical household and family is to examine the census records for specific villages. 
  • In France, accurate records of this kind begin only in the 1830s.
  • Nonetheless, we know from other sources that the size and structure of rural households did not undergo any significant changes from the eighteenth to the early nineteenth century.
  • Hence, an examination of the census of 1836 will provide a reasonable estimate of family and household size in the heyday of Edmond Restif in the mid eighteenth century. 
  • For this estimate, we'll use the records for three Burgundian villages that were located about 80 miles to the southeast of Sacy and Nitry.  

 

These were the villages of Tart l'Abbaye, Tart-le-Bas, and Tart-le-Haut, and they all fell within the lordship owned by the Nicolas Berbis, the Marquis of Longecourt.

 

thm_Tarts LC small.comp.jpg (16486 bytes)

 

 

thm_1836cover.jpg (6699 bytes)

Census for Tart-le-Haut, 1836

 

thm_CensusSmall.jpg (13308 bytes)

thm_Longecourt atlas.jpg (16453 bytes)

thm_Chateau.jpg (6579 bytes)

Chateau of Longecourt

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