Ancestors in the Census
While the various population censuses carried out in the 19th and early 20th centuries included an individual record per household with one line per person, the 1766 census is presented in the form of a list by locality. Individuals, grouped by household and identified by their first and last names, are listed in separate columns according to whether they are adult men (with an indication of their occupation), adult women, boys under 16, and for girls under 14.
The reading of this census, which is unfortunately not available for the whole country, is usefully combined with that of the census of properties of the same year, and generally referred to as "the cadastre of Marie Thérèse. This name gives the incorrect impression that it would be an inventory with maps and plans, when we are dealing only with written enumerations and explanations.
The surnames in the 1766 census are not in all cases identical to those in the parish registers of that time, although both are nonetheless due to the same local priests. It is nevertheless possible to establish the correspondences fairly easily.