HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE NOT-YET- INDEXED 1940 CENSUS
Brenda Kellow
April 8, 2012
By now, you have all had the opportunity to see the 1940 census released on April 2 and you found it really did not have an index! You were warned to prepare ahead of time so you would have a list of those in the census you wanted to search for and to know their approximate enumeration district (ED) number.
If you still have not found those ED numbers, Innovator Steve Morse has all the tools to help you with your findings. It is free of charge. Steve calls his site, Webpages by Steven P. Morse, http://stevemorse.org/. On this site for the 1940 census he has a tutorial, getting ready on paper and for the personal interview, the 72 year rule, finding the ED, street and understanding definitions, codes, 1940 ED maps, census tracks, and a large city finder to help with those ‘city folks.’ There aren’t words to describe how helpful Steve’s site is for searching all the census years plus so many other databanks.
Here is a list of the tools he has on his site for searching the other databases:
Ellis Island, Castle Garden and other ports
Phonetic Matching
Canada, UK Census
New York State Censuses
Vital Records
Calendars, Maps, etc.
Foreign Alphabets
Holocaust and Eastern Europe
Genetics (DNA)
Creating Your Own Search Application
One Step Portal for Online Genealogy
Awards, Bibliographies and Interviews
FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THOSE ATTIC TREASURES: The Genealogy Library needs volunteers to help with sorting through the Wells Collection, now in boxes, to create a bibliography and to scan the images. If you can help, please contact genealogy librarian Cheryl Smith at 972- 941-7175 or email her at [email protected]. She continues to need help indexing the Plano Star Courier newspaper archive. A couple hours of your time when it is convenient to your schedule is always appreciated.
FGS CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER: The Federation of Genealogical Societies conference this year is in Birmingham, Alabama from August 29 through September 1. The focus is Indians, Squatters, Settlers and Soldiers in the “Old Southwest.” There are individual sessions designed to balance the needs of genealogists at all levels, explore a variety of records, strategies and other available tools. The Wednesday session focuses on members and leaders of genealogy societies For more information, their website is at www.fgs.org/2012conference/.
NGS SPONSORS TRIP TO WASHINGTON, D.C.: This is your opportunity to research in Washington, D.C. and be guided by National Genealogical Society professionals. It is scheduled for November 12-17. Sign up now at www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conferencees_events/research_tips/dc_research_trip.
GENEALOGIST 2 GENEALOGIST, WIKI LAUNCHED: It is not just for beginners, but for those more experienced also. WikiTree’s new site is called WikiTree G2G (Genealogist to Genealogist) and you can access it at www.wikitree.com/g2g/. Its purpose is to help people with problems whether there is a direct family connection or not. You can either ask a question or answer questions about a general question or about a brick wall problem. When you enter the site, ask a member to invite you to join. You should receive that invitation promptly.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA CEASES PUBLICATION: It was the encyclopedia of choice for my parents and for me while in school, college, and for my children and certainly for genealogy. Those searching for royal lines find complete pedigree charts inside. Now, it will only be available online. I wonder if it will be the same.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].