Anybody searching the newly-released 1940 census data?

[Gold Metal Flake]

http://1940census.archives.gov/

I'm working through it trying to find relatives. I wonder if anyone has a clear copy of the headers used on the census schedules. All the ones I have seen are fuzzy. This is info about the living arrangements and home values and stuff.

Looking stuff up is kind of confusing at first. Also, the huge differences in the 1940 maps and current maps adds to the difficulty in some rural areas.

[Gold Metal Flake]

1. Oh! Hazzah! I found it!

http://www.1930census.com/1940_census_questions.php

It's all there, including a high-res and clear scan of an actual schedule form.

[DebJ]

2. Thanks!!!

Thanks so much! I am out of town and have been forced to use a borrowed iPad. I thought that was the resolution issue.

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. Reading the schedules and the maps is difficult.

The scans are huge. I save the page so I can look at it with a picture viewer.

[madinmaryland]

11. You can download all of the pages at one time for an ED (Enumeration District)...

I did it for four ED's last night and was able to find a lot of my immediate ancestors. Of course, you need to know where the ancestors lived to do that, which if in a city would mean you would need the exact location. If you knew the approximate area, you may be able to determine from the maps, which can also be downloaded.

[Gold Metal Flake]

13. Ah, thanks. That would make it easier.

Yesterday I had two ED searches going at the same time. Scroll on one and go to next page, while that loads I go to the other tab to another ED and do the same.

[Staph]

4. Fascinating! And thanks for the link!

I found my mother and her family in her small hometown in West Virginia. We spent 75 minutes on the phone, with me reading the names and her telling me stories about the friends and family members. We would have spent much longer, but her cell phone battery was dying!

[jakeXT]

5. I'll have to wait for name search

The 1940 census has not yet been indexed by name. Therefore, only searches by location and enumeration district are currently possible. The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project is a volunteer initiative currently underway to make a name-index available for free

[Myrina]

6. Wow, cool - just found my dad's 'homestead'...

... and names of friends of his that I remember hearing as a kid, must have been 'boyhood pals' he stayed in touch with.

Also, very interestingly, found a fireman listed a few lines away from dad's parents, which I assume mean they lived close by each other. My dad was 12 in 1940 and this fireman was listed as being in his late 20's. Wonder if this neighbor was their inspiration/role model - my uncle grew up to be a fireman and my dad eventually became fire chief in our little city. Cool!!

[MatthewStLouis]

7. This morning I flipped through a couple hundred images to find my grandparents.

I had a good idea about where they lived from the 1930 Census.

Genealogy is so addictive, I love this stuff. I am so glad this Census is finally available. Happy hunting!

[bikebloke]

8. Waiting for the name index.

I've been scrolling through records for the general neighbourhood, going by the street they lived on in the early 50's. By accident, I came upon the bloke who later married my aunt. I have a feeling they lived in another district in 1940 or even across the river still.

[Denninmi]

9. Didn't work at all for me.

I was trying to look up my mother's family in 1940. It asked for the name of the CITY they lived in. Well, they lived in a rural township. In the county, it only shows census tracts for cities, not townships/rural areas I guess. Stupid and kind of disappointing. I hope it gets better later on.

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. Give it the country, then look at the maps for the ED numbers of the area.

From that you can pull the schedules. Or wait for the name index, which is currently being compiled. That will make it much easier.

[CBHagman]

10. I had my first go at it last night...

...and wound up in what I hope was the right section of the Bronx, though frankly I might need to do some more research (e.g., city directories, other maps, etc.) before I narrow things down a bit.

And reminder to everyone on this thread: DU has an Ancestry/Genealogy Group as well.

[WolverineDG]

14. Not yet

But I'll be looking through it this weekend

[benld74]

15. I found my dads family,,,,

small rural county in Illinois. Best to wait until the stuff gets indexed. I just lucked out. He was 21 in 1940, then 2 years later was in the Pacific,,,,