1950 census

2022 - 4 - 1

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

How to Find Newly Released Census Records From 1950 (The New York Times)

The release of such historical census data, which occurs once every decade (the 1940 census was made public in 2012) is a major event for historians and ...

Because the handwritten forms from that census have been read and transcribed using artificial intelligence, spellings may be incorrect. Nevertheless, public reaction to the new website has been “overwhelmingly positive,” Pamela Wright, the agency’s chief innovation officer, said in a written statement. The National Archives has made that easy: This website provides a link to a free database of census information that is searchable by names and addresses.

1950 census release is a 'genealogy goldmine,' can fill gaps in ... (Detroit Free Press)

Most census data we have is just statistics. This release includes personal information, including names and addresses.

"You can tell the baby boomers were in full development in the late '40s and '50s, so you'll be able to see the kids being born." ... People often call Detroit 'the arsenal of democracy' because a lot of the auto factories were converted to war production, so they stopped making cars and started making tanks and all types of things for the war." It was the beginning of transformative and modernizing years, according to the Census Bureau. Many white residents moved to the outskirts as more Black people moved into the city. It's very important for historians, and especially for people doing their family history." "An enumerator went to 123 Main Street, and knocked on the door, and saw John Smith and his family, and then wrote down the information for each one of them on the census.

How to search the 1950 US Census on archives.gov (Quartz)

A free, searchable database of 1950 US Census records is now available to the public.

The last name was only included on the census form for the head of household, while other family members were listed by their first names if they shared the same surname. The Census Bureau has a few tips for narrowing down your search: Records identifying people by name must be kept private for 72 years under US law, and this is the first release in a decade.

The 1950 census, a treasure trove of data, was the last of its kind (The Washington Post)

Dan Bouk is a historian teaching at Colgate University and the author of "Democracy's Data: The Hidden Stories of the U.S. Census and How to Read Them" (MCDxFSG) ...

As the nation expanded, the census took on new significance, evolving into one of the most democratic forms of historical preservation ever imagined.But a new commitment to the aggressive use of sampling led to the decision in 1960 to slash the number of required questions for all people to seven. By asking questions of a randomly selected “sample” of the entire population, the Census Bureau could predict what the answers were for the whole. We might also consider, though, a future census that gives more prominence to the responsibility of democratic representation in the nation’s archives.As we celebrate the release of the 1950 Census records, it is an opportune moment to think again about the role the census has played — and may still play — in preserving the nation’s past by preserving a substantial accounting of each of us. To make up for all the questions no longer being asked of us and to make space for new questions that meet our changing times, we have been, since 2005, each represented by a tiny fraction of the entire population in a Census Bureau survey conducted every year.The growth of the census questionnaire had not been designed with historians in mind. Five percent of the population, evenly distributed across the country with individual respondents selected at random, answered even more.Then in 1950, the census slimmed down to around 20 questions, with a large set of sample questions asked to a bigger subgroup: 20 percent of all residents. The 1950 census therefore stands as a testament to the value of an expansive, exhaustive census and all that it saves for posterity.The Constitution instituted the U.S. census as part of the machinery of democratic governance, tying representation to population. By the turn of the century, new questions focused particular attention on the place of birth and first language (called “mother tongue” in the questionnaires) of each person and also that of each of their parents. Only heads of household were named in the ledgers, and so only their details were recorded.Through the 19th century and into the 20th, the scope of the census expanded. The resulting tables of numbers informed debates about immigration that culminated in restriction laws passed in the 1910s and 1920s.It had become plausible by the 1930s for a Census Bureau official to claim: “Every person in the United States, however insignificant he may be, has a permanent place in the history of the country.” Yet not long after those words were written, a technical revolution swept through the census that made it possible for the government to ask many fewer questions of most individuals.The 1940 Census introduced more questions than its predecessors, including a controversial set of questions related to Americans’ incomes. Beginning in 1870, the census was supposed to count every Native American as well — though only some would count for representation purposes.Congress began to add new questions to be asked of all those counted, as it would for decades to come. In 1850, as the census became more curious, it also began recording separate answers for each individual person in a household, though only free people were named.After the Civil War and with the passage of the 14th Amendment, the three-fifths compromise was struck out, making all Black Americans full statistical people who were asked the full battery of questions. In meeting this goal, the first census of 1790 did little more than count heads.That first enumeration only tallied the numbers of White men (split into two age groups), White women, those the census referred to as “all other free persons” and enslaved people.

National Archives releases 1950 US Census records: Search your ... (al.com)

This is genealogy heaven when a census is rolled out,” said Matt Menashes, executive director of the National Genealogical Society.

Adults were also more likely to be married, with more than two-thirds of adult men and women being married in 1950 compared with less than half of men and women in 2019, said Marc Perry, a senior demographer at the Census Bureau.Elaine Powell is excited because this is the first release in which she will see herself in the census records. Starting Friday, genealogists and historians can get a microscopic look at those sweeping historical trends when individual records on 151 million people from the 1950 census are released.Researchers view the records as a gold mine, and amateur genealogists see it as a way to fill gaps in family trees, a field of research that has seen dramatic growth in recent years through the popularity of home DNA testing kits.“This is genealogy heaven when a census is rolled out,” said Matt Menashes, executive director of the National Genealogical Society. “People are waiting anxiously. She has traced her father’s side of the family back to 18th century Ukraine, and her research has put her in touch with previously unknown third and fourth cousins in the U.S. whom she talks to regularly.Here is a link to the 1950 Census data“It’s an interesting journey to find out where you are from and the census records help you find information that isn’t always available,” said Kalman, 55. If the digital record of the 1950 census form says “Wilhelmina” but has been entered as “William” in the index, that will be corrected, said David Rencher, director of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and FamilySearch’s chief genealogy officer.The effort could take six to nine months, he said.“We believe we will get better accuracy because we are having humans look at it,” Rencher said.The new data will flesh out the contours of a dramatically different world.In 1950, the U.S. had less than half of the 332 million residents it has today. The 1940 records were released a decade ago.For Wendy Kalman, an amateur genealogist in Atlanta, the 1950 records will help her solidify details about her parents and grandparents and their relatives. But they broke into nuclear family units after World War II. Willis hopes the 1950 census records help him piece together what happened to those relatives who settled in other states.“That will help get me 10 years closer to putting the puzzle together, a little bit,” said Willis, 53, a software company executive who lives in Greenville, South Carolina.The records released by the National Archives and Records Administration will be indexed into a searchable website. The website will include a tool allowing users to fix any incorrect names or add missing names.Claire Kluskens, a digital projects archivist at the National Archives, acknowledged that what will be on the website starting Friday is “a first draft,” in which specific people are most likely to be found initially only by searching for whoever was listed as the head of their household.Two outside genealogical groups, Ancestry and FamilySearch, a division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have teamed up to serve as a quality check on the records by creating their own index separate from the National Archives.At Ancestry, scores of workers will be ready at 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday to start downloading the more than 6.5 million digital images of the census files. “It verifies what you have been told by your parents and grandparents.”It can also correct the record left by family lore. Researchers view the records that will be released Friday, March 31, 2022 as a gold mine, and amateur genealogists see it as a way to fill gaps in family trees. FILE - Leonard Miller helps his mother Mae Miller, with her shopping at the supermarket, Oct. 2, 1950, in New York. Genealogists and historians can get a microscopic look at sweeping historical trends when individual records from the 1950 census are released this week. The Utah-based company will scan the millions of surveys, using artificial intelligence to decipher sloppy handwriting and converting the information into readable database form.“We are so excited to dive into the census,” said Crista Cowan, corporate genealogist at Ancestry.Anywhere from 400,000 to 800,000 volunteers across the U.S., under the coordination of FamilySearch, will then double-check the entries with the actual digital images. AlabamaChevron that denotes content that can open up.

New census records from 1950 could help you trace your family tree ... (Durham Herald Sun)

Newly-released data from the 1950 U.S. Census could help genealogy buffs trace their ancestry. Here's what the archives include, and how to navigate through ...

Last names were not used for others written on the census form unless they had a different last name. Each ED has a two-part number, with the first representing the county and the second noting the geographic area of that county. The website also includes a transcription feature to correct and add names to online records. NARA can provide copies of a specific page of the census for a fee of $35. In order to get a copy, you must provide the name of the individual listed, page number, census year, state, county and enumeration district. * Search for the first and last name of the head of household. * When searching for a last name, be sure to enter the state and county of residence of the person you are looking for.