This fonds consists of an typed transcript by Louis J. Daley of the information contained in the Roman Catholic Census of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, taken in 1878-1879. Every attempt was made to adhere to the original, leaving spelling errors intact. Although undated, comparisons with Canadian censuses and baptismal records put the date at 1878/79. The ledger from which this volume has been transcribed was found by Mr. Daley in the basement of the Bishop's Palace in Charlottetown in the summer of 1991.

The census contains extensive information about Catholics living in 716 households in Charlottetown. It documents household number, street, father's name, mother's maiden name, clergy officiating at the marriage, occupations, school attended by children in the family, and remarks. Occupations sometimes give employer's name as well, e.g. Baker @ Quirk's. Enumerators are supposed to have been Father Nazaire Charles Antoine Bouderault and Father Stephen Phelan, assistants at the cathedral parish at the time.

The Diocese of Charlottetown was created on 11 August 1829, largely through the efforts of Bishop Angus Bernard MacEachern. The Diocese encompasses all of the parishes on Prince Edward Island although it also originally included New Brunswick and the Magdalen Islands as well. St. Dunstan's parish is the largest parish within the Diocese, originally taking in all of the City of Charlottetown, with the parish church of St. Dunstan's, built in 1812, located in the heart of the city. As well as ministering to the spiritual and physical well-being of their congregations, it appears to have been the custom of the Diocese to do periodic censuses of their parishioners.