Link to catalog entry in Family History Library: 1766 Census. Do a keyword search for Luxembourg 1766 census OR a keyword search for "Dénombrement, 1766"
This census has the following headings:
1. Noms des Hommes que les habitent de l'age de 16 ans en sus [Names of men ages 16 and above].
2. Leur État, Profession, Art, Métier ou autre de moyen de Subsistance. [State, occupation, craft, or other means of subsistence].
3. Names of females age 14 and above.
4. Names of boys under 16 years of age.
5. Names of girls under the age of 16.
Deanery of Stavelot
This deanery once covered villages and parishes forming a triangle around GRAND HALLEUX / ST.VITH (Belgium), GOESDORF (Luxembourg) and Arzfeld (Germany) and included 211 communities; 120 are located in modern-day Belgium, 22 in Germany and 69 in Luxembourg.
Sometimes subsidiaries are shared between two parishes. This probably comes from land properties, voueries old manors and - lords who wanted to have their say in the ecclesiastical division. It is astonishing that all population census is based on the reporting of priests, this time even characters "respect" communities. But it does not yet exist secular civil authority organized and responsible for a locality, mayeur being liable accounts only its land lord and the priest is often the only inhabitant so little scholar. Admittedly We have not found any outbuildings subsidiaries: the weather and use have changed fundamentally their name or the clerk who is at the origin of our paper has distorted unintentionally to a way to avoid future generations, it is a local name is not entered in the use of modern cartographers. Sometimes the name is found now transformed into the designation of a lane in a village. The spelling of some localities also seems not to be well secured nowadays.Thus we find different variants for the same locality that according to consult a map or a tourist prospectus. Is that speaking Walloon - and its unique spelling, -. Exerts its still largely sympathetic influence is interesting to note that the inhabitants of some villages are occupied almost exclusively to specific professions, eg hawking. In this richly wooded country whole villages were set up to ensure the supply foundries and steel industry in this region charcoal. A phalanx of carters is at their disposal. This is especially the case around Vielsalm where even a "Ville-du-Bois" born with various annexes most of which have now become streets and neighborhoods of lesser importance. A Salm-Château Manufacture a woodworking occupies thirty "wood workers" and some inhabitants of Ennal villages of Grand-Halleux, of Mont Hourt or sell through hawking.It is first of bowls, "Holzschotelen" ("Schotelskréimer"), plates or rather turned wooden bowls to receive the food of the poor. Let us remember that at that time there was still no pottery in Luxembourg. Rarer are the manufacturers of snuff whose use has been introduced in our regions.Sometimes there are a collector of rabbit skins or game that sells this commodity useful to tanners after adequate preparation. Anyway it should be noted that in these wooded neighborhood has a population that is not afraid of work and has the ability to invent all kinds of resources to cope and to feed his family. We see very often attend two or even three different trades. Most farmers are carters in the offseason or peddle local products or shoddy goods to neighboring towns and villages. Is this the original home of the famous Belgian friends all have been born a little merchants? A curious cottage industry, especially Salm-Château, is to make "stones shaving" or "razor stone" stones very fine texture used to sharpen the traditional "straight razor" chiste yellow stones found in the vicinity of Lierneux-Vielsalm and handcrafted to properly present and serve. And our hawkers carry these burdens from village to village. It was truly the land of the working poor. On the other hand the goods are exported, however it seems to America! On the other side of the Our country's most fertile soil, it is mainly the rural population with prevailing occupations that complement the agricultural world: beside servants, laborers, shepherds and cowherds we meet the miller, the wheelwright, Marshal; sometimes a roofer straw or a mender of pots and pans mingle; few sculptor or chamoiseur. The tobacconist has a profession almost avant-garde while the maker of potash merely providing this once essential ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder. In short, a peaceful and active people, no problem for their neighborhood, as we still know today these people applied and faithful.'s perspective genealogy these surveys show that the surnames from us very often find themselves the Across our current so artificial boundaries. A study we gain a little more realistic view of the large families with well-sounding names of our little universe. Their roots are very often in these parts and their origins are sometimes smaller. We especially appreciate the efforts of ascension in our society of their ancestors.This census brings new perspectives regarding this region.