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Uncover fascinating details from the 1940 Census with information on demographics, occupations, and more. Bookmark essential websites for accessing the census data and understand the enumeration process. Learn about the intriguing tidbits found in the census, and utilize tools to locate street addresses and Enumeration Districts efficiently. Prepare to delve into this valuable historical resource!
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Get Ready for The 1940 Census! Beth Bensman National Archives at Philadelphia
1940 CENSUSOpening April 2, 20129:00 AM EDT http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/ Bookmark these sites! http://1940census.archives.gov/
Sex: M – Male; F – Female Marital Status: Single (S), Married (M), Widowed (Wd), Divorced (D)
Column 10: Color or Race: White (W), Negro/ Black (Neg), Indian (In), Chinese (Chi), Japanese (Jp), Filipino (Fil), Hindu (Hin), Korean (Kor) Other Races – spell out in full Mexicans not counted separately as they were in 1930 Native Americans—no percentage of blood as they were in 1930 Column 11: Age: 11/12 April 1939 10/12 May 1939 9/12 June 1939 8/12 July 1939 7/12 August 1939 6/12 September 1939 5/12 October 1939 4/12 November 1939 3/12 December 1939 2/12 January 1940 1/12 February 1940 0/12 March 1940 (Do not include children born on or after April 1, 1940.)
“For a person born in' any of those central European areas where there have been recent changes in boundaries…”
Column 14: Highest Grade of School Completed: 0 None 1 – 8 Elementary School, 1st – 8th H-1 to H-4 High School, 1st to 4th Year C-1 to C-4 College, 1st to 4th Year C-5 College, 5th year or more Column 16: Citizenship of Foreign Born Na Naturalized Pa Having First Papers (Papers Applied For) [Declaration of Intention] Al Alien Am Cit American Citizen Born Abroad or at sea
Internal Migration – Due to: Stock Market Crash Dust Storms
Column 21: Enter “Yes” for persons at work for pay or profit in private or nonemergency Government work. Include unpaid family workers – that is, related members of the family working without money wages or salary on work (other then housework or incidental chores) which contributed to the family income. • Column 22: • During the week of March 24-30, 1940, was the person at work on, or assigned to, a public work project conducted by the WPA, CCC, or NYA [National Youth Administration]?
Those not working, not assigned to public emergency work, not seeking work, and without a job, business, or professional enterprise. This group will be subdivided into (a) persons who devote most of their time to the care of the home and doing housework for their families ("H"); (b) persons in school (“S”); (c) persons physically unable to work because of permanent disability, old age, or chronic illness (" U”); (d) other persons, including retired persons, persons who choose not to work, etc. ("OT”).
Column 30 (and 47) Class of Worker PW Wage/Salary Worker in Private Work GW Wage/Salary Worker in Government Work E Employer OA Working on Own Account (Self-Employed) NP Unpaid Family Worker
Column 41: War or Military Service W World War (I) S Spanish-American, Philippine Insurrection or Boxer Rebellion SW Spanish-American & World War R Regular Establishment: Peace-Time Service only (Army, Navy or Marine Corps) Ot Other War or Expedition
Tidbits from 1940 • The Census Bureau received 6,000 suggested questions, for example: • Cosmetics makers wanted to know the number of blondes, brunettes, and redheads • Cemetery operators wanted to know how many families owned burial plots • Uncommon occupations included “ham sniffer” and “whistle tester”
Preparing to Access the 1940 Census • Released only in digital format, not on microfilm • Initially, no alphabetical or Soundex Index • Need to know the street address and/or the enumeration district (ED)
What is an ED? (Hint: It’s Not Mr. Ed) ED stands for Enumeration District. An enumeration district is a "basic geographic area of a size that could be covered by a single census taker (enumerator) within one census period." The ED consists of a two-part number separated by a hyphen where the first number represents the county number and the second number the number of the enumeration district within that county.
Locating On-Line City Directories • United States Online Historical Directories • http://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/Home/usa • Distant Cousin • http://distantcousin.com/directories/ • Google specific states to locate directories
Locating Street Addresses WWII Draft Card • To locate a street address try: • WWII Draft cards • 1930 Census • Your Own Records
Determining EDs or Why we Like Steve Morse • http://www.stevemorse.org
1930 ED to 1940 ED If you have the ED from the 1930Census • Use Steve Morse’s Tool “Converting Between the 1930 and 1940 Census in One Step” • http://stevemorse.org/census/ed2040.php?year=1940
Large Cities • Use Steve Morse’s Tool “Obtaining EDs for the Census in One Step (Large Cities)” • http://stevemorse.org/census/index.html?year=1940 • Good for cities having a population of at least 50,000 or more in 1940 • May also include some smaller cites • Need to know the street address and cross streets
Address and Cross Streets • Do you know the cross streets (those that border your address)? • To find cross streets, go to http://maps.google.com • Type in the address including city and state. • You’ll see the address marked on the map with a balloon. • Note the streets that surround your address. These are the cross streets.
Rural Areas • Do you know the county where the town was/is located? • If you do not know the county, go to http://stevemorse.org/census/counties.html • When you know the town and county go to: Finding ED Definitions for the 1940 Census for “Small Communities And Rural Areas” • http://stevemorse.org/ed/ed.php?year=1940
Census Maps • Use the 1940 Census Maps to Narrow EDs • Go to NARA’s On-line Public Access • http://www.archives.gov/research/search/ • Type in: 1940 Census maps + the county + the state • i.e.: 1940 Census maps + Hancock + Indiana
Helpful Links Blank PDF of the 1940 Census Form http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/1940.pdf Instructions to Enumerators http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/instructions-to-enumerators.pdf 1940 Publicity and Training Films http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/videos.html#video1 Census Resources and Links http://www.archives.gov/research/census/resources.html