Virginia Census

Online Resources

 * United States Online Census, 1790-1940
 * — index and images

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

Microfilm images

 * 1890 Union veterans schedules are available at the Family History Library on Family History Library films . They are also available at the National Archives.

The Library of Virginia has the original 1850, 1870, and 1880 schedules. Duke University (William R. Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706) has the 1860 schedules. The 1850 and 1860 schedules for the area that later became West Virginia are also on microfilm at the Family History Library and the West Virginia Archives and History Library.

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

State and colonial censuses
Virginia took censuses in the years before the first federal census was taken. The dates are listed below. State census records may have columns that were different or more unusual than those found on federal censuses. The responses and years of coverage may give additional information on the family.

All of the records in the table below are available on Ancestry ($) and Internet Archive - free.

Census substitutes
Not technically a census, the 1696 Association Oath Rolls serve as a census substitute. The original records are found in class C 213 at the National Archives, Kew, England. Gandy published abstracts of oath takers living in British plantations, including Virginia:


 * Gandy, Wallace. The Association Oath Rolls of the British Plantations [New York, Virginia, Etc.] A.D. 1696. London: the author, 1922. Digital version at Internet Archive; reprint: 970 F2L 1995. [Virginia entries begin on page 30]

In addition to the federal censuses, lists of residents are available for some colonial years. The lists of 1624 and 1787 have been published and are available at. These censuses list only the heads of households.

Several census substitutes have been compiled, including:


 * Virginia in 1740: A Reconstructed Census. Miami Beach, Florida: T.L.C. Genealogy, 1992. (Family History Library book ; Family History Library film ).

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

For a listing of names omitted from the microfilmed 1820 Federal Census of Virginia see:


 * Gerald M. Petty, "Virginia 1820 Federal Census: Names Not on the Microfilm Copy," The Virginia Genealogist 18, no 2 (April-June 1974):136-139.


 * When the 1820 Federal Census of Virginia was microfilmed nine pages were accidentally missed. The missing pages were from seven different counties (Accomac, Monongalia, Prince Edward, Pittsylvania, Randolph, Shenandoah, and Southampton), and reference over 175 individuals. Included in the article are the names, county, and page number references for those who were missed. The list can also be accessed online at the Shenandoah County GenWeb Project. See 1820 Census page 150, Shenandoah County, Virginia for digital copies of the missing Shenandoah County pages.

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