1940 Census Countdown -Only 2 days left

On Monday, April 2, 2012, the long awaited 1940 census will be released. For the first time, it will be available to the public to search free of charge by the National Archives.

The 1940 census will be released online on April 2, 2012.
Please bookmark this page: 1940census.archives.gov.
This is where you will be able to access the digitized census records starting on April 2. The digital images will be accessible free of charge at NARA facilities nationwide through our public access computers as well as on personal computers via the internet.

You can go here to obtain information to prepare for the census:
http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/

GOOD LUCK!

CENSUS RECORDS - WHAT YOU CAN THESE RECORDS TELL YOU?

Since 1790 to the year 2010, the United States Government has collected census information every 10 years to document the people residing in the country at the time of the enumeration.

However, there is a 72 year privacy act so currently census records are only available until 1930 but the 1940 census will be released on April 2, 2012.

In genealogy, these records are a valuable resource for reconstructing the lives of your ancestors. The reason why is that each census schedule represents a point in time or chapter in the lives of the people listed on the schedules. Each record tells a story about the person(s), where they were and to a great extent who they were.


While the early census schedules only listed the head of household, subsequent ones also list the other members of the household.


It is important to point out that census records from 1790 to 1860 only listed free persons. Hence, most African Americans unless they were free persons of color were not listed in the Southern states. Most were not enumerated until 1870 census, 5 years after slavery ended. However, if you are African American, you should always check the prior census  records anyway since your ancestors may have been a free person of color or non-black person.  Also, for certain Northeast states such as Vermont, freedom came early as 1777 for African Americans so again it is important determine when slavery ended in the state where your ancestors resided.


So what can these records tell you? A whole lot. There is a wealth of history hidden in these records.


You can learn the paternity of known ancestors will may enable you to locate different branches of your family. You can also find out when your ancestors were born, where and some census records give the birth places of their parents. The names of their spouse and children, their ages and  their birth order are also provided on most census records.


You can also learn the occupations of the members of the household and whether they were educated.  The location where your family was living and whether or not the Head of Household owned or rented property is documented on most census records.


Again, census records are like a snapshot of your ancestors lives at a particular point in time. By locating them on multiple census  records over the span of their lives, you can follow the progression  and changes that occur over time with their family structure. Review of a series of records on a particular family can reveal a newly married couple, a growing family with a few children, a household full of children, the children leaving home to start their own family, empty nesters and finally widowed spouses.

Below is excerpt from a census schedule:

Hence, if you are interested in finding out about your family history, census records are a good place to start. These records are available on a variety of websites including ancestry.com,  genealogy.com and familysearch.org.

Karen Burney

COMING SOON! THE 1940 CENSUS

Last month I did a class on the 1940 census to prepare people for its long-awaited release.  Here is some information that I shared during my presentation:

  When will it be available for public assess?

a)    Sunday, April 1, 2012 (72 year privacy act expires)

b)    Monday, April 2, 2012 (Actual Release date)

1940 Census Different From Past Census

a)    Statistical Data to Be Used for Government and Business Planning-

b)    Agricultural/Housing Data Schedules (no longer exist burned in 1949)

c)    Goal of accuracy and full inclusion of All citizens

d)    Employed more census takers than previous years and provided more training and guidelines (123,069 enumerators)


What territories were covered? 

    Continental United States (48 states), Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, the Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, military and consulaservices abroad, and naval services abroad or in American waters, but not at a fixed station

  Where can you assess it? Digitally not Microfilm

a)    National Archives Online Public Assess (Free searchable database) http://www.archives.gov/

b)    Ancestry.com (Free until 2013)

c)    FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org/1940Census)

   How to Search the 1940 Census

a)    Unindexed-Advantage-You might find people you weren’t looking for

b)  Enumeration Districts

  Tips for Searching the Census

a)    Prepare a list of people you plan to search for

b)    Check 1930 census and directory for approximate location they were before

c)   NARA Enumeration District maps- Search the 1940 Census Maps for Enumeration District Numbers

CENSUS RECORDS

CENSUS RECORDS

The United States has conducted the Federal Population Census every 10 years since 1790 as mandated by the Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution which reads as follows:

[An] Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

Congress first met in 1789, and thus the first national census was held in 1790. To date, there have been 23 such enumerations that have been taken as of the year 2010. This represents 220 years or roughly 9-10 generations of citizens that have been counted in the census.

However, inclusion of the majority of African Americans, Native Americans and other non-white persons did not occur until the year 1870, 5 years after the official end of the slavery and the end of the civil war. However, as a Genealogist I advise people to look at the prior years also because your ancestor may have been what was known as a Free Person of Color and therefore included in the count. Also, African Americans should not to assume that all of their relatives were of African or African American descent.

What can you expect to find in the Census? Although, early census records contain less information than the latter ones, you can still find a lot of useful facts about your ancestors. You can learn information such as their name, spouse, other family and household members, neighbors, age, approximate date of birth, occupation, birth place of the individual, family members and their parents, whether they owned land or rented, and whether not they could read or write.

Where can be find census records? You can assess census records on a number of online websites such as Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, Genealogy.com and Rootsweb.com to name a few.

Below is sample close up view of a census record from 1870.

Click to enlarge

The arrow points to the Head of Household, Willaim Springs who is listed in the first space. According to the record, he is a 36 years old male Black who is a Farm Laborer born in South Carolina.

Below is a blank 1870 census that you can click to view questions that were asked:

Karen Burney

The Roots Exchange and Education Society (TREES