Census Records for the District of Columbia
This entry was originally written by Johni Cerny in Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Contents
Federal
Population Schedules
• Indexed'1800, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment), 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930
• Soundex'1880, 1900, 1910 (Miracode), 1920
Industry and Agriculture
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Mortality Schedules
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Union Veterans
• 1890
Slave Schedules
• 1850, 1860
When the first federal census was taken in 1790, residents of the nation's capital living north of the Potomac River were enumerated with Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland. Those living south of the river were counted as Virginians; however, the 1790 census for Virginia has been lost. There is no 1810 census for the District of Columbia.
Collections of microfilmed census records can be searched at the National Archives and its regional branches (see pages 11-12); the Washingtoniana Division of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (see District of Columbia Archives, Libraries, and Societies); and The Family History Library (FHL). Published abstracts of census records can also be found in those repositories.
There is a separate collection of census indexes for the District of Columbia at Ancestry.com subscribers can search at District of Columbia Census, 1800-90. The collection includes the following indexes: 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1850 Slave Schedule; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1860 Slave Schedules; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule; 1890 Naval Veterans.
