The population of Boston, 1638-1880 from the 1890 Boston Municipal Register. Click to enlarge, otherwise you won't be able to read a thing.
I've had a lot of searches recently looking for information on Boston's population a subject which has long been of interest to readers of the City Record (See the Boston Population 2004, Boston Population 2006, and Boston Population 2006 Revised Upward posts). The chart above provides a handy overview of Boston's population between 1638 and 1880 because it breaks down population growth in Boston proper as well as for the communities which would eventually be annexed by Boston. The handwritten notation on the chart shows the fact-checking of the 1890 Municipal Register: the Boston Record Commissioners (that's the BRC you see on the image) were engaged in a project to transcribe and republish Boston's early records and a different population total was found in the early records than had been previously reported. What I find most interesting about the population statistics is how few people remained in Boston in 1776.
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