Find your family members on the 1940 U.S. Census

30 May 2012

A census of the United States population has been conducted every year since 1790. The census results are full of great information, both on the population in general (as analyzed by demographers at the U.S. Census Bureau) and on individual residents (once results are released).

For family history researchers, the census can provide clues about one’s family history. Depending on the year (the census’ questions are revised each time), you can learn where ancestors lived, their occupations, educational status, job status, who lived with them…all sorts of great stuff.

Due to privacy concerns, individual census results are not released to the public for 72 years after the census is conducted. The release of new census results is always a cause for much excitement among those who are into genealogy. On April 2, 2012, the 1940 census results were released.

You don’t have to be a family history researcher to get a thrill from finding your parents’ or grandparents’ handwritten names and other information on the census. You can access the census results free of charge. A great starting point is the 1940 census page of the U.S. Archives website.

Eventually, the census will be indexed (as previous censuses are). Then, all you will have to do to find an individual is plug in the name and search. Now, though, you have to know the enumeration district in order to pinpoint the correct page on the census.
It’s easy to find the enumeration district if you know the address where your people lived.

In my case, my 79-year old mother remembered her childhood address. So at the Archives.gov website, I entered the state (Washington), county (Spokane), city (Spokane), street (31st). That narrowed it down to three sets of documents (over 35 pages each) to look through. Since I had her exact address, I entered it into Google Maps and was able to see that a nearby cross street is Division. When I entered the cross street, it narrowed it down to just one set of census pages. I had to look through about 24 pages of the 38-page set, but then I found it.

I discovered that my mother’s uncle was living with them in 1940, which I hadn’t realized, and that he worked as a mechanic for the city. I was reminded that my grandfather was a retail merchant who owned his own business. I learned that my mother’s brother (at least according to this census, but censuses can be wrong) was born in Georgia. I’d never, not once, heard of our family having any associations with Georgia (my mother was born in Missouri), so I’m going to have to ask my mother about this.

I had a similar experience finding my 81-year-old father on the 1940 census. He was born in 1930, but after the enumeration date, so it was the first time I’d seen his name on the census.

I love family history research, so perhaps I’m biased, but I think this is very exciting. I encourage you to take a few minutes and explore your own family in 1940. It’s free and, I think, really fun!

Tagged with: census, family history research, genealogy