In 1890, questioning the accuracy of the city’s population count reported by the federal government, New York City officials launched an independent census using police officers as enumerators. Today, this census is known as the 1890 New York City Police Census.

On February 18th, join City archivists to learn more about the newly digitized 1890 census and how you can help transcribe information from this valuable record. Long valued by family historians, the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) recently completed digitizing the 1890 census with a generous grant from the Peck Stacpoole Foundation. During 2025, the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City government, DORIS is expanding access to records documenting the City and its diverse communities. The 1890 census is an important resource for studying the City’s immigrant population.

Discover the challenges archivists faced in digitizing the fragile census books and learn how you can contribute to this exciting transcription project.

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