#1940 census

[the-cricket-chirps]

Census: Auntie was Yoko’s neighbor. 1940

[riversidearchives]

This index card is a good example of the result of previous termite damage. It was placed in a sized Mylar sleeve for preservation. This image also presents what information can be lost due to damaged or improperly stored records.

#ArchivesHorrorStories

Today’s post comes to us from one of our Archives Technicians, Stephanie, who in 2017 was working on processing records from Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sells Agency.

While working on processing a series from the Sells Agency, which oversaw the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation (then known as the Papago Reservation) in Southern Arizona, I came across previous termite damage ranging in severity from minor to extreme. The group of records included both family and individual census index cards which were created in preparation for the 1940 census. I placed the damaged cards carefully in protective Mylar sleeves for preservation purposes and filed them alphabetically by surname back into the collection accordingly.

These vital index cards detail information that provides a snapshot of life in the late 1930s. Some of the cards were handwritten and include notes. Information that was recorded included: first and last names, maiden names, name variations, family relationships and heads of households, marital status, occupation, wages and earnings, language(s) spoken, level of education, degree of Indian blood, tribe, residence, age or year of birth, sex, date of death, cause of death, as well as a census identification number.

These aren’t the only census cards in our holdings of the National Archives at Riverside. To name a few other series from the same record group, we also hold census cards from the Pima Agency, the Mission Agency, as well as the Navajo Area Office. In fact, census index cards just from Record Group 75 in our holdings total 41 linear feet!

Series: Individual and Family Census Cards, 1937. Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793-1999. (National Archives Identifier 49712909) 

[devonellington]

Thurs. May 25, 2023: Using the Census for Research

image courtesy of  Clker-Free-Vector-Images via pixabay.com Thursday, May 25, 2023 Waxing Moon Pluto Retrograde Partly Sunny and cold The latest on the garden is up over on Gratitude and Growth. Today’s serial episode is Legerdemain: Episode 88:  Jed Smythe’s Apartment Who’s so tidy? The victim or his kidnapper? Legerdemain Serial Link Legerdemain Website Yesterday felt like a somewhat…

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[thefearandnow]

was looking at census documents last night and felt the need to screenshot this. the columns in the middle are birthplace and parents’ birthplaces and the highlighted ones are my great grandmother’s family

[oldbonessearch]

1940 Census -- Quick Fact

1940 Census — Quick Fact

This may very well be my shortest blog, but I wanted to post this while I was thinking about it.  Wouldn’t it be great to know who the enumerators interviewed in a census record?  The 1940 census will tell you.  Just to the right of the person’s name you’ll see an X in a circle.  Bingo!  There’s your answer!

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[usnatarchives]

Nine months after opening in a new location at the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House building at One Bowling Green, the National Archives at New York City welcomed its 10,000th visitor. Staff met the Russell family at the Welcome Center with the news and a copy of the book "Our Land, Your Land." The Russells were excited and happily posed for a photo.

Staff asked if they were here to do research and learned that the Mrs. Russell needed documentation to get her passport. Staff were able to locate her and her family on the 1940 Census and provide a certified copy that day.

[forthillhistory]

The City of Boston Archives posted this photo on their photo page today.  I'm guessing that this is sometime in the 1940s, and that some of the folks in this picture were included in the 1940 census.  As some neighbors immediately noted, there used to be a thriving business district in Eliot Square and Fort Hill in general.  Here's hoping we see that return in some fashion in the near future!

[ancestry-stickynotes]

Ask Ancestry Anne: What Should I Do With A Census Image?

Question: I found my family in the 1940 Census, but I’m not sure what to do now. Is there something else I should be looking for?

-- Jo Anna Worthington

Answer:  Finding the record is only part of the game. The next step is to figure out how to use the information in it. I’ll use George J. Hickman’s family from the 1940 census as our example.

Step 1.  Learn everything you can from the record.

The 1940 census has a lot of information.  For now, we’ll look at

  Names, ages, birthplaces, and relationships

Residence in 1940 and 1935

Occupation

Get started by selecting “View image.”

Names, ages, birthplaces and relationships.

The image shows that George is living with his wife, Edna; four daughters, Doris, Deloris, Frances, and Betty Joyce; his son, George; and his Uncle William.  Everyone was born in Virginia except Edna, who was born in West Virginia.

Doris and Deloris are both 8.  Twins?

Uncle William is listed as single. He was likely never married; otherwise, he would probably be listed as divorced or widowed.

Where they lived in 1940 and 1935.

The Hickmans lived on Road #685 in Natural Bridge, Rockbridge County, Virginia.

Street names and addresses, when available, are listed vertically in column 1.

If the family lived in the same house in 1935, you’ll see “Same House” in column 17, or if they lived in the same town but a different house, you’ll see “Same Place.” The Hickmans have an “R” in column 17.  This R means rural and tells us they lived in another town with a population under 2,500.

What they did for a living.

Columns 28 and 29 tell us George was a tinner in the building industry, and Uncle William was a section hand for the railroad.

Step 2.  Write down what you learn.

Don’t tell yourself, “Oh, I’ll remember this.”  You won’t.  Save the record to your Ancestry.com family tree. If you don’t already have an Ancestry.com family tree, you’ll have the option to create one using this record.

Also, take notes about what you find on a record – even consider creating a notebook with a page or tab for everyone in the family. That way you’ll know where you found that key birth date or maiden name and you won’t have to dig through all of the records you’ve discovered to find that information again.

Step 3. Ask new questions.

Every time you learn something new about your ancestors, chances are you’ll end up with a few more questions, too. Here are some things we don’t know about the Hickmans:

Where exactly did they live in 1935?  Why did they move?

When did George and Edna marry?

When did Edna move to Virginia?

Why was Uncle William living with the family

Were Doris and Deloris twins?

What is a tinner? What did a section hand do? 

Who were their neighbors?  Did any other Hickmans live in the area?

Each of these questions are linked to another record collection.

Question 1 – where they lived in 1935 – may be answered by a city directory, which may also tell you George’s occupation. If it changed between 1935 and 1940, that may mean George took a new job with a new employer, which triggered the family’s move.

Question 2 could be answered by a marriage record.

Question 3 will require Edna’s maiden name, which can be found on that marriage record, which can then be used to find Edna with her parents in earlier census records, and so on.

Familiarizing yourself with all of the records available on Ancestry.com and the type of details contained in each will make your search for more answers simpler.