The 1950 Census is Here!
Nobody really cares that the 1950 United States Federal Census is now available, except family history nerds like myself. So if you are into genealogy, you will understand my excitement.
The first federal census was in 1790 and asked just a few
questions:
- Name of head of family
- Number of free white males age 16 years and upwards, including head of family
- Number of free white males under 16 years old
- Number of free white females, including head of family
- Number of all other free persons (fee African-Americans)
- Number of slaves
Since that time, the census has been taken every 10
years. Sadly, the 1890 census records were lost to fire in 1921. Each year the
questions have varied and included such data as age, marital status, immigration
status, work/salary information and addresses. For the family historian, there
is much to be gleaned from the census records.
Each census is released after 72
years. The records are released to the public by the National Archives and
Records Administration. April 1st of this year, the 1950 census was
released. For many people, this is the first census they find their parents, or
even themselves.
I found records for my dad, uncle
and grandma in the Dutchess County, New York census. Daddy (12 y/0) and Uncle Jack (14 y/o) were
students at Greer School (Hope Farms), where Grandma Miller (41 y/0) was a teacher.
Grandma lived in the staff dorms and Daddy and his brother lived in resident
housing. Although I’ve known for years they were at Greer School, it was
exciting to me to find this documentation of their residence. I’ll need to do a
post soon of some of the stories Daddy has shared with us about his time at
Greer.
Next I was able to locate the page listing my mom, her oldest brother and parents, in Richland County, South Carolina. Mama has always told me they lived in several places in Columbia, specifically the Eau Claire area. In 1950, the census shows that they lived at 1802 Adams St. Grandpa Myers was a 29 y/o auto mechanic at a repair shop. Grandma Myers was 31 y/o and kept house. Mama was 4 y/o. Uncle Hazel was 9 y/o. Every fifth person listed was a sample for additional questions, and Uncle Hazel was one of those. This sample information indicated that he did not live in the same house a year ago. It also states that he lived in Kershaw County the previous year, and that he was in 4th grade.
I have lots more people to look up, so I better
get busy!
