West Virginia Census

Online Resources

 * United States Online Census, 1790-1940
 * West Virginia, Compiled Census Index, 1860-1890

Microfilm images
West Virginia became a state in 1863. Census records prior to 1863 can be found in Virginia, click here

West Virginia became a state in 1863. National Archives film numbers for census records prior to 1863 can be found under Virginia, click here

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of West Virginia, click here

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of West Virginia, click here.

State and colonial censuses
No record of a state or colonial census has been found.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing West Virginia censuses, click here.

Why use a census?
A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses
Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:


 * index searching tips
 * analyzing and using what you find
 * census accuracy
 * historical background
 * contents of various census years and types