District of Columbia Census

Portal:United States Census >District of Columbia

Availability[edit | edit source]

Federal census records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Research Outline provides more detailed information about these records.

1790-- Residents living east of the Potomac in what is now the District of Columbia were in Prince George and Montgomery Counties of Maryland. The census for Maryland is indexed. The area west of the Potomac was included in the Virginia census, which is missing.

1800--The Eastern Portion exists.

1810--Lost or Destroyed.

1820-1930--The Family History Library has the U.S. federal censuses of the District of Columbia.

1870 United States Census---A free internet index and images can be viewed on FamilySearch Record Pilot site. This index includes the full name, age, sex, race, birthplace, occupation, month if born in census year, month if married in census year, birth place of father and mother, if born in a foreign country.

1890-- The enumerations of a few streets in 1890 are on FHL film 926498 and all the names have been indexed (FHLbook 973 X2na 1890; films 543341- 42).

1900 Federal Census - A free Internet index and images to the 1900 United States Census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search – Pilot Site. Important additions to this census are month and year of birth of each household member, number of years married for each married person, number of children born to each mother and the number of those still living, year of immigration, and number of years in the United States.

Historical Background[edit | edit source]

During the War of 1812, The British captured Washington and burned most of the public buildings and records. In 1871 Congress changed the city's status to that of a federal territory.

Indexes[edit | edit source]

1890--The veterans schedule for 1890 (FHL film 0338277) and an index (FHL book 975.3 X22j 1890) are also at the Family History Library.

Special Censuses[edit | edit source]

Mortality Schedules[edit | edit source]

1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 are on FHL films 1549978-9. All have been indexed.

Mortality Schedules 1850-1880

District Censuses[edit | edit source]

1803, 1807, 1818--District censuses were taken,but have little information.

1867-1878--District censuses are quite detailed. They provide name, age, sex, marital status, color, length of residence, occupation, and nativity of parents. These are at the Maryland State Archives.

Police Censuses[edit | edit source]

Police censuses exist for the following years:

1885, 1894, 1897, 1905-1909, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1919

1925--The 1925 census is missing.

These are similar in content to the 1820 federal census and were published in the Annual Reports of the Commissioner of the District of Columbia, which are available at the National Archives.