Auntie Jen's Family Trees: The 1950 Census - Everything You Need To Know

President Truman & wife taking the 1950 census

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The time has come for the 1950 census to be released to the public from the US Census Bureau. Genealogists and Historians have been waiting for this release, well, since the last census (1940) was released in April 2012. This census will have many people on it including our parents and grandparents, and you may even find yourself on it! Now you may have some questions:

When will it be available?
What questions were asked?
How do I find my ancestors if they are not indexed?
How do I access the ED maps associated with the census?
What can I do to prepare for the release?
and many more!

To help answer these questions, I have put together a list of links all about the 1950 census. I am by far not an expert but have compiled a list of those who ARE experts. This will be an ever-growing list of links as more information becomes available. If you have any helpful links you would like to share, please leave them in the comments. I hope these help you in your research! And thank you to all the YouTubers, bloggers, and researchers who have taken the time to share their knowledge and the information they have acquired with us.

History and Helpful information

Overview of the 1950 Census:
https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/overview/1950.html

Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Census_1950

Family Search Blog - Release Date:
https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/1950-us-census-release-date/

Family Search Blog - 1950 Census Main Hub:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/info/us-census/1950-census/

Volunteer to Index the 1950 Census:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/indexing-1950-census

Climbing Your Family Tree - Are You Ready for the 1950 Census?:

https://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/p/1950-census.html

History Hub - Countdown to the 1950 Census:

https://historyhub.history.gov/community/citizen-archivists/blog/2021/04/09/countdown-to-the-1950-census

History Hub - 1950 Blog Series

https://historyhub.history.gov/docs/DOC-1481

NARA Blog - Preparing for the 1950 Census:

https://aotus.blogs.archives.gov/2021/03/24/preparing-for-the-1950-census/

NARA - Information about the 1950 Census

https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1950

Ancestry.com - 1950 Census Main Hub

https://www.ancestry.com/c/1950-census

Ancestry.com - Information about the 1950 Census

https://www.ancestry.com/lp/family-history/1950-census

Lisa Lisson - What To Know Before The Release

https://lisalisson.com/1950-census/

MyHeritage - 1950 census page:

https://www.myheritage.com/census/us/1950census/

MyHeritage - U.S. Census Hub:

https://myheritage.com/census/us/

MyHeritage - Blog post sharing more details about the release of the 1950 census:

https://blog.myheritage.com/2022/01/1950-census-release-is-coming-up-soon/

Family History Fanatics - Prepare for the April 2022 Release of the 1950 Census

https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/resources

The 1950 Census

Questions that were asked (Population): https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/index_of_questions/1950_population.html

Questions that were asked (Housing): https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/index_of_questions/1950_housing.html

Blank 1950 Census Forms - Population and Housing: https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/questionnaires/1950_1.html

Blank (fillable) 1950 Census Form - Population (Scroll to the bottom)

https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/resources/family-history-forms

Instructions (Original) for Enumerators: https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/census_instructions/1950_instructions.html

Instructions transcribed:

https://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/inst1950.shtml

Enumerator's Manual for the 1950 Census (Original):

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Urban_Enumerator_s_Reference_Manual/EC_HkukZEMgC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Supplement to the Enumerator's Manual for the 1950 Census (Original):

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Supplement_to_the_Enumerator_s_Reference/HKeb5K1eZ3AC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Urban & Rural Enumerator's Workbook Population Housing & Agriculture:

https://tinyurl.com/y4yle55u

Infant Cards:

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/195980246

https://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2020/02/1950-census-infant-card-innovation.html

https://historyhub.history.gov/community/genealogy/census-records/blog/2021/04/19/1950-census-infant-cards-and-the-special-infant-enumeration-study

Enumerator talking with family

Photo courtesy of Census.gov

Research

Helpful tools through SteveMorse.org – Maps, Enumeration District info, In-depth Census info, etc.:

https://stevemorse.org/

Enumeration District Maps:

https://stevemorse.org/census/arc1940-1950edmaps.html

Wards, Tracts, and Block Maps:

https://stevemorse.org/census/1940-1950blocks.html

Enumeration District Locator:

https://stevemorse.org/census/unified.html

Deciphering Occupation Codes:

https://stevemorse.org/census/1950occupationcodes.html

Finding Ancestors Addresses Beforehand

http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-1950-census-how-to-find-addresses.html

Using Photos to Help Find Addresses

http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2022/03/1950-census-using-photos-to-help-find.html

Enumeration District Maps: How To Look Them Up

http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2022/02/week-6-maps.html

What If You Can't Find The Street on the ED Map?

http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2022/03/1950-census-what-if-you-cant-find-street.html

Ancestry's Explore Map Feature

http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2022/03/1950-census-ancestrys-explore-maps.html

Auntie Jen's Spreadsheet Research Log

http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2022/03/1950-census-spreadsheet-research-log.html

Thomas MacEntee's 1950's Census Research Tracking Sheet

https://genealogybargains.com/free-genealogy-cheat-sheets/

Enumerator at mobile home park

Photo courtesy of Census.gov

Instructional & Helpful YouTube Videos

Lisa Louise Cook:

The 1950 Census for Genealogy

https://youtu.be/87hGRjeZ5o4

Show Notes:

https://lisalouisecooke.com/2021/04/06/1950-census/

Questions asked in the 1950 Census

https://youtu.be/TEwTGVS88Oo

Show Notes:

https://lisalouisecooke.com/2021/04/21/questions-asked-1950-us-census/

JDW Talks:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_YlY4IV14L6RdIX1Mk5UDW9vSzVZsWw5

Genealogy TV with Thomas McEntee: https://youtu.be/LaeK3GLbCsM

Family Search

https://youtu.be/M0n1B7uob0Y

I've created a playlist on YouTube of videos that have to do with the 1950 Census. The videos above are on the playlist along with some other special goodies. Check it out!