Censuses & Lists of Inhabitants

 

Although Alaska wasn't made a state until January 3, 1959, as a territory of the U.S., Alaska did get enumerated... just not as early as most of you need.  Where then, are you supposed to look for your relatives?  Hopefully, this page will give you the answer; and, if not the answer, then at least a direction.

Yes, yes... I already know... most of what you're about to view aren't censuses in the modern-day format that we're accustomed to.  Although called 'censuses' they are more like lists of inhabitants, and that is how I present them to you.  Past their names, the place and date, no other information was provided.  Still, clues can be gleaned from even a dated list of names. 

Run your cursor over the place of enumeration to access a particular page.   Hopefully, we have a transcriber (or two, or three) out there who would like to donate their time and efforts to getting some of the censuses online here for everyone.  If you have any censuses you'd like to submit, please contact me.

Dated notes are injected where necessary in between census years.  They should be used as guides to your next census step.  In advance, you might like to know that a red Note: is not a good thing.

Links to an assortment of maps on this site are provided to give you a visual image of at least some of the boundary changes. 

Not all pages have been completed yet.  Please keep an eye on the What's New? page to see additions.  Emboldened words in the Location column are hyperlinks to the desired pages.

 

Year

At that time Alaska was in...

Location & Any Notes

1807

Russian America St. Paul Island List of Inhabitants

St. George Island List of Inhabitants

1868 Russian America St. Paul Island only

1870

District of Alaska 1867 - Alaska purchased by the United States

Sitka and St. Paul Island Lists of Inhabitants  ( see also The Army Takes the Sitka Census

1876 District of Alaska Fort Wrangel List of Inhabitants
1877 - 1878 District of Alaska St. George Island only
1878 District of Alaska Aleutian Islands (villages of Belkovsky, Nicholayevsk, and Protossoff which is also called Morzovog)
1879 District of Alaska Sitka only, excluding natives
1879 District of Alaska St. George Island only
1880 District of Alaska St. George Island only
1885 District of Alaska Cape Smyth, Point Barrow only
1886 District of Alaska St. George Island only
1887 District of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Islands only
1888 - 1889 District of Alaska St. George Island only
1890/95 District of Alaska Pribiloff Islands; Naval Vets
1900 District of Alaska  
  District of Alaska St. Paul and St. George Islands in 1904, 1905, 1906/07, 1914, and 1917 (last 2 under Territory of Alaska)
1902 District of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Islands only
1904 - 1905 District of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Island only
1908 District of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Islands only
1907 District of Alaska St. Paul Island List of Inhabitants

St. George Island List of Inhabitants

1908 District of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Islands only
1909 - 1910 District of Alaska St. Paul Island only
1910 District of Alaska  
1911 - 1913 District of Alaska (till 1912) St. Paul Island only
1914 Territory of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Island only
1915 - 1916 Territory of Alaska St. Paul Island only
1917 Territory of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Islands only
1918 - 1919 Territory of Alaska St. Paul Island only
1920 Territory of Alaska  
1921 Territory of Alaska St. Paul Island only
1922 Territory of Alaska St. George and St. Paul Islands only
1920 - 1929 Territory of Alaska St. Paul Island Native Aleuts only
1930 Territory of Alaska  
1940 Territory of Alaska  



Although Alaska was purchased in 1867, the U.S. government did not record an 1870 census for the newly acquired region. The U.S. censuses for 1880 and 1890 for accessible villages have not survived.

In the absence of Alaskan counties, the census takers created enumeration areas for 1880 to 1900 and used judicial divisions for 1910. The Act of 1912, which made Alaska a territory, prohibited the creation of counties without the approval of Congress, therefore, no counties were ever created.

The 1910 federal census was enumerated in four judicial divisions.