At
Last the 1950 U.S. Census
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| Interviewing a family for the 1950 census. source: census.gov |
After awaiting 72 years in its dark archival vaults, the 1950 U.S. Federal Census will be released into the public light of day this April 1st. And that is no joke.
If you were born before April 1st 1950, you will be able to see yourself when you were just a wee tyke, that day a census taker came to your parents’ door with that big black book of forms. I will have to await until 2032 to see myself, but I will be able to see my mom as a girl of eight years. I must say, I am excited.
Of all genealogical records, the U.S. Decennial Censuses are my favorite because they give such a big record of a family. Depending on the census year, I can see who was living in one house, their relationship to each other, their address, their neighbors, place of birth, age, marital status, citizenship, education, medical, military and employment information. It is like a portrait of a household taken every ten years. The government releases these censuses after 72 years because of privacy issues, something I never understood because there are other records made immediately available to the public such as deeds and marriage license applications.
The 1950 Census is very similar to questions asked in the 1940 Census, especially in terms of supplemental questions asked for every fourth to fifth line. These questions concern education, in-depth occupation questions, and military service. I declare, these supplemental questions must be some kind of rigged system implemented by the Las Vegas casinos because everyone I looked up in the 1940 Census missed those supplemental lines. Therefore, I hope I have better luck with 1950.
Beside the 48 continental states, the 1950 Census includes the territories of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and some of the smaller island territories. This census also included American citizens living abroad, such as the armed forces, U. S. employees and Merchant Marines.
Where to find the 1950 Census? One place is the National Archives website, but the best place will be Ancestry, which is offering the 1950 Census free to the public. Additionally, the Yocum Library has an institutional subscription available via the RACC Portal in the Library Resources. As for searching the census, Ancestry will begin indexing April 1st with completion by this Summer. I am almost certain it will be browsable, as I cannot wait for indexing. What I mean by browsable is searching through digital image sets, similar to leafing through a newspaper the way we used to read them back in the old days. The census is divided into thousands of digital image sets according to enumeration districts. There are several district finders online, one of which is on Ancestry.
Don’t be fooled this April. We are here to help you should you need any assistance searching the census or any other library inquires.
Links
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1950 Census Form:
https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1950_population_questionnaire.pdf
Ancestry
1950 Website:
https://www.ancestry.com/c/1950-census
