As a genealogy researcher, we are happy and excited for the release of the 1950 United States Federal Census. Do you have “your ducks in a row” to find your ancestors in the census? Just a quick review of some things you can do to prepare for the release of the 1950 U.S. Census.
- Study your ancestors during the 1940s – school yearbooks, 1940 census, newspapers, vital records, employment records, city directories, etc.
- Create a timeline of events for your ancestor around the time of the 1950 census.
- Using city directories and other information, determine your ancestor’s address and find the enumeration district. Use Steve Morse’s One Step to do this.
- Put together or find an extraction sheet to quickly enter the information you find.
Remember the more you know, the easier finding your ancestors will be. If you need help, check out our previous posts. What if you don’t know, after your research, exactly where your ancestor is? Plan B is to wait until the census is indexed. That way, you can just enter the name and pull up the information. How long will that take? We don’t know the exact timeframe but the major companies, like Ancestry, FamilySearch, and MyHeritage, are getting ready to quickly index. The 1940 census took a few months to index, so it won’t be long. Censuses are one of the most important sources you can find. Are you as excited as we are?!
What is your plan for discovering your ancestors in the 1950 census? Let us know in the comments.
FamilyFinders