The NYC Municipal Archives recently completed digitizing the 1890 Police Census. There are 894 volumes to the collection. An additional 113 volumes are missing.
Because the New York City Mayor in 1890 believed the federal census significantly undercounted inhabitants, he ordered the Police Department to conduct another census in Manhattan and part of the Bronx. It took place between September 29, and October 14, 1890.
The digitization project resulted in 77,844 images. Each volume lists the population of one election district. A map of the election district boundary can be found on the last page of each volume. The entries record election district, assembly district, police precinct, name of the police officer/enumerator, and the address, name, gender, and age of each resident.
A name index on FamilySearch.org covers all the volumes and lists the volume number but not the page number. There is also a name index on Ancestry.com but it only covers 26 of the volumes. Otherwise you will need a street address and know the E.D. and A.D. number to browse through the images.
The images are available at https://nycrecords.access.preservica.com and then put “police census” in the search box.
The Municipal Archives is seeking volunteers to transcribe the images. To help with this project, go to: https://fromthepage.com/nyc-archives/1890-new-york-city-police-census
