District of Columbia Census

Additional Information may be found on the United States Census Portal page.

Availability
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.

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

Historical Background
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
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.

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

District Censuses
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
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.

State Censuses
No state censuses exist for the District of Columbia.

Web Sites
Ancestry: http://www.ancestry.com

Heritage Quest Online: http://www.heritagequestonline.com

Census Online: http://www.census-online.com/links/DC/

Genealogy Today: http://dir.genealogytoday.com/usa/dc/census.html

Access Genealogy: http://www.accessgenealogy.com/census/washdc.htm

Bibliographic Citations
District of Columbia Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1988, 1997.