The 1861 England & Wales census was taken on 7 April of that year and was essentially of the same format as the previous one ten years earlier.
In 1861 the population of Great Britain & Ireland was 29,070,930; made up of 9,776,259 males & 10,289,965 females in England & Wales, with a further 1,449,848 males & 1,612,446 females in Scotland. Thus the general male/female split at that time was approximately 48 males for every 52 females.
The total number of people recorded in England & Wales with the Reffell surname was just 75, a miniscule proportion of 0.00025% of the total population. This consisted of 41 males & 34 females, very different from the national average. The most popular male name was William and Mary was the most popular female name. The average age was surprisingly low at just over 25 and the oldest was 78 years old.
The family was largely London-based and there was other large branches in Surrey and Buckinghamshire. Smaller branches were to be found in, Kent, & Suffolk. All had been born in England or Wales.
There were many varied occupations listed including; farmers, a working jeweller, some cabmen, an ironmonger, some gun makers, a number of watermen and rope makers. Also included were people connected with the brewing trade both brewers and publicans. There was no one listed as being in any of the the armed services, and perhaps the strangest occupation noted was a manure agent!
It was predominantly a male working force, with only a few of the females having any occupation; a couple of dressmakers, a waitress, a shop assistant, a housekeeper and a pipemaker.
