Got an original record from an Ancestry Database Index

     Isn't it excited when you get a new shaky leaf on your tree on Ancestry? It means you have a new hint. A possible new source of proof. A possible new answer. That's how I felt when I got a hint for my 5th Great-grandfather, John Hance. I had just made a recent connection with him and was looking for more sources to prove the connection. This may be what I need!

    So I checked the hint. It was for a marriage record for John Hance and Rachel Daulphin. Yes! That's the first name of the wife I had listed for John based on his probate record. But then the let-down came. This was only an index. And it only had a couple pieces of information. I had no way of proving this was my John Hance (besides the names) and this was the correct date. 

What are Index Databases?
    Index databases only contain information that the compiler thought was impertinent at that time, not the whole record. So they pick and choose certain pieces of information from the original record and compile it into a searchable database that is easier to keep organized and easier to search. But sometimes there is information on the original records that could be extremely helpful and necessary to make connections and prove your research. So when you come across these index databases, it's best to search out the records from where they originally got this information.

How To Access The Sources
    That's what I did. The record collection/database was called, "U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900". When you click on the hint from Ancestry, it brings up the indexed entry. At the top of the page, it has a clickable link to take you to the record collection. If you scroll down past the search boxes, you will find information about this particular database. I've discussed this in a YouTube video for my Auntie Jen's Two Cents segment. Check it out below.

    Every record set page has information below the search boxes explaining how they got this information and more details about this database. This information is important to your research. It will help you determine if more research needs to be conducted, how reliable this information can be, and if this database is a primary source or a secondary source. 

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

Ancestry.com

Scroll to the bottom to learn more about the database

    This information led me to reach out to the Yates Publishing Company. They were the ones who originally compiled this database, so they would be the owners of the original sources. I was blessed that there was information on how to contact the Yates Publishing Company listed below in the "About" section.

"This database contains marriage record information for approximately 1,400,000 individuals from across all 50 United States and 32 different countries around the world between 1560 and 1900. These records, which include information on over 500 years of marriages, were extracted from family group sheets, electronic databases, biographies, wills, and other sources. Compiled over thirty-four years by professional genealogist Bill Yates, these marriage records are unique because they were taken from a wide array of sources and stand to provide a great deal of information about entire families.

"Source materials for these marriage records include family group sheets, pedigree charts, family history articles, queries, letters, Bible records, wills, and manuscript genealogies. Researching with this unique database, you may be able to learn the full names of the bride and groom, their birth dates and places, the year and/or month they were married, and the marriage location. One of the most useful features of this collection is that once you find an ancestor in this database, you have the opportunity to quickly and easily obtain a great deal more information about that individual by contacting Yates Publishing (see next paragraph).

The marriage records in this database were provided by Yates Publishing. Yates Publishing has been publishing genealogical books, periodicals, and quarterlies since 1972. In 1981, the founder, Bill Yates, began a service to provide and collect the family history information in family group sheets. Called the Family Group Sheet Exchange, this service has collected over 200,000 pages of family group sheets on paper and several hundred thousand more on disk. For more information or to order an original Family Group Sheet on the Family Group Sheet Exchange, please visit Yates Publishing." ~ About U.S. and International Marriage Records 1560-1900, Ancestry.com

    I was able to access the Yates Publishing website through a link provided in the "About" section. Thanks to their efforts, I was able to order a copy of the family group sheet for the Hance family. I wanted to check the sources to see how they came up with the marriage date and to see what other information I could learn. The sheet was emailed soon after and I was able to view it.

Family Group Sheet
John Hance
Yates Publishing

    As you can see there is a lot of information to unpack from this group sheet. Unfortunately, all Yates Publishing had was this group sheet that was submitted by a descendant of Greenbury Hance, one of John Hance's children. He is the one that compiled this group sheet. Some of the information matches what I know to be correct, so I know this is the right John Hance and family. Looking at the bottom of the group sheet, there is a list of sources that were used to compile this information. That's what I was looking for.
    This information was compiled from many sources. Sources I have already checked like census records, but some I did not know existed. Such as a family bible. Fascinating! There is also another descendent listed as a source. So the next step will be to track down these lines and see if any of them have these sources still. 

    Just from a glance at this sheet, I'm inclined to believe the information that is listed here because the sources seem to be pretty specific. But that doesn't mean there aren't errors. But I feel confident in the validity at the moment. 

    The next time you come across an Ancestry Database Index, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of that record set to learn more about where the index came from and if you can possibly get your hands on the original records the index from which the index was compiled. That is the best way to get to the bottom of what you are researching. 

Back to work...

1950 Census - New Finds & Surprises

     Ancestry.com has finally released the indexes to the 1950 Census. A SEARCHABLE index. While the hints haven't shown up yet as of the publishing of this blog post, you can search for your ancestor and then add the census to your tree. Oh, I've been so waiting for this! While I've found the majority of everyone on my list there were still a few family members I had yet to locate. Either because they moved somewhere I wasn't aware of or they traveled a lot and I couldn't track them. There are some of the family members I found and some surprises as well.

James Benjamin Francis Wheeler
    J. B. Wheeler is the father of my grandpa, Les Wheeler. I had a few address options for him, but neither had panned out when. He was one of the first names I searched on Ancestry to see if he would pop up. And he did!

    Surprisingly, he was living with his oldest living son, James Enoch Wheeler, and his family. They were living in Oakland, Missouri at 961 Big Bend Rd. I hadn't even attempted to look for James E Wheeler when I originally made my list. I figured I would look him up later after the index had come out. I never guessed J. B. Wheeler would be living with his son.
    Something exciting I found was J. B. was on the final line of the census, which means not only is he on a sample line, he has extra questions. More than everyone else. I learned a couple things about J. B.  I learned he attended school up until past 7th grade. He finished 7th grade but did not go any further. I also learned the last job he held was in construction. One of the questions did ask how long he had been married last and he put 20 years. He also selected "yes" that he had been married more than once. If I didn't know this already, this would have been helpful. But these weren't the most surprising facts I learned by locating this census.

1950 US Federal Census
James Wheeler & Family
Oakland, St. Louis, Missouri
ED: 95-269; Lines 24-30
Ancestry.com

   

As I was looking at this census, I had one question: Where was Pearl? Lucy Pearl was J. B. Wheeler's 3rd wife. They were married in 1930. The family was well acquainted as both their children from previous marriages had married. But, where was she? She wasn't living in the household. Then I looked a little to the right and noticed under the "Marriage" column, "Sep" was written, which means separated. Interesting! A quick search for Lucy Pearl Wheeler brought up a census record where she was living as a lodger. She was also listed as "Sep". This shocks me as there was no indication that they had separated in the information I had. J. B. Wheeler died in 1957 and he was listed as still being married. Lucy Pearl Wheeler died in 1967 and she was listed as a widow. Even J. B.'s obituary states, "Wife, Lucy Pearl Wheeler" so they never officially got divorced. It is unclear if they ever moved back in with each other. Almost a year before he passed, he moved into a nursing home where he lived out his life. 

1950 US Federal Census
Pearl Wheeler
St. Louis, Missouri
ED 96-599; Line 30
Ancestry.com

Ruth Kelley    

    Ruth Kelley is my grandma's Aunt. I grew up with her and knew her well. She was married to James Howard Kelley, but he died before I was born. He was a general contractor who traveled all around the US working on projects. One being the space needle in Seattle, Washington. Mom has memories of him sending special gifts back from his travels which included an Eskimo doll.
    With all the moving around and traveling he did, I knew it would be difficult to find them in this census. I did try using addresses I had for them but wasn't successful. So I was waiting, impatiently, for the index to be released to find them. And I finally DID find them! Although, I was slightly disappointed.
    They were living in the area I thought they were, but just at a different address. So it really wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be, but I am still glad I found them. Aunt Ruth was working in a cafeteria at a high school which Uncle Howard traveled around. I wonder if her picture would show up in a yearbook from around that time. Hmmm... Anyway, I'm still glad to have found them.

1950 US Federal Census
James H Kelley, Ruth H Kelley
ED 98-672; Lines 1-2
Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana
Ancestry.com

    Those are the two ancestors I was unable to locate by address and ED districts alone. It took the index being finished for me to locate them. I did learn some new information about my family so it was definitely worth locating. I will search for more ancestors later, but these are the more important to me.

Have you tried using the index on Ancestry yet?
Who have you found? 

1950 Census - Who Have You Found?

     Everyone is all abuzz over the release of the 1950 US Federal Census. Many of us were up late waiting for the midnight release. I joined Amy Johnson Crow for a release party on YouTube. We were visiting with friends and preparing for the moment the Census was released on the National Archives website. When it finally hit, we all scattered and went searching. Almost like an Easter Egg hunt. You can watch the video below.

Mom, Dad, and Their Parents

    That first night, I only planned on looking up my parents since I had to get up early the next morning for a doctor's appointment. Mom's family, I was able to find them right away thanks to the Enumeration District. I knew where they were living when the census came through so that helped a great deal. 

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Gravois - 95-279
National Archives
Wheeler Family

    Mom has given me the information that she was told. She was only a month old when the census came through. Later that year they moved to another location, but that was after the census came through. I wrote about them in previous posts here:

Using Photos to Help Find Addresses

Who Do You Hope To Find?

    Now, Dad's family was more tricky. They were moving around a lot during this time, so there were a couple of places they could have been, and I only had addresses for two of them. While Dad was still alive, he had told me about the places they lived. He had an impeccable memory. The first two places were in Kirkwood that my grandpa built. I had addresses for them and looked them up right away. Nope, they weren't there. Next came the places I DIDN'T have addresses for. Only some details.
    Dad told me after Kirkwood they lived temporarily in Arnold. First at a Gas Station that my Papa was trying to acquire and then at Bridge Inn that doubled as a cafe and Inn. Dad said Papa ran the business while Grandma was the cook for the cafe. Dad said they lived either above the cafe or in one of the buildings on the property. But he couldn't remember where the Bridge Inn was exactly located. I had planned on taking him for a drive around the area to see if that would spark some memory, but he had passed away before I could do that.
    Unfortunately, the deal fell through at Bridge Inn for some reason, dad couldn't remember why, although he was just a kid. Now at this point they were homeless. They ended up moving to their clubhouse on the Meramec River near Eureka. That was yet another location they would have been living when the Census came through. And this was also another location I had no address for. So this was going to be tricky.

    Like I said, I tried Kirkwood first but they weren't there. So the next part was searching in Arnold which was in Jefferson County. I had no address or location of where to look, so I was going to have to rely on the preliminary index that was created from the National Archives. Oh, and am I glad they had that. I did a search in Jefferson County for my Papa's name and it came up. I couldn't believe it! Based on the information given, my Papa was a Cafe Operator and Grandma was a cook. Just like my dad told me. So this must have been for the Bridge Inn. I have now been pouring over maps to try to find the exact location of where the Bridge Inn was located. I know I will be working with my Aunt on this, who was also alive at this time and on the census. So you know I will be writing more about this later.

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Rock Township - 50-34
National Archives
Fuchs Family

Great-Grandparents

    I had three sets of Great-Grandparents and one Great-Grandma to look up in this census. Not to mention my husband's family, which we will discuss later.

• Nellie Fuchs
• Robert & Louise Strawhun
• James Benjamin & Pearl Wheeler
• Joseph & Margaret Ilg

    I had addresses listed from all of them, but only one set was questionable. Nellie along with Robert & Louise lived at the same address in Kirkwood for years before and after the 1950 Census so that was an easy find. Joseph & Margaret were living at their location with their daughter (My grandma) before she married my grandpa, and according to records were still living at this address after 1950. But while I had the address, the street couldn't be located on the Census map, so it was a little tricky tracking down that information. But there were right where they were supposed to be.
    The only set I have not found is James Benjamin & Pearl. I had a couple of addresses for them based on sources I had, but they were not living at those addresses; other people were living there. I did a search for them, but St. Louis is a huge area, so that didn't narrow anything down. I know at some point, James Benjamin was put into a nursing home, but don't know when. So they are going to have to wait until the index is more complete.

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Kirkwood - 95-75
National Archives
Fuchs Family

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Kirkwood - 95-84
National Archives
Strawhun Family

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, St. Louis - 95-315A
National Archives
Ilg Family

Other Family Members

    Not only did I have Great-Grandparents, I had some 2nd Great-Grandparents to find on my Maternal Grandmother's line. Oma Mae Caldwell and her ex-husband, Edward Buer. Oma lived in her mother's old house, so she was easy to find. But Edward and his new wife, Alice were a little more difficult to track down. Their address was just outside of town limits, so it was hit or miss for the Enumeration District. But they were located.

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, St. Louis - 96-791
National Archives
Caldwell Family

1950 US Fed Census
Illinois, Will County - 99-112
National Archives
Buer Family

    One family I still have not found in the census is my 2nd Great Aunt, Ruth Kelley and her husband James Howard. I knew this was going to be my most difficult couple. James Howard Kelley worked as an architect, at least that's what I was told, and he traveled around a lot. He lived in Missouri, Illinois, Washington and even Alaska. Mom told me she remembered him sending her a little Eskimo doll from their when she was little. It was also rumored that he helped design the Seattle Space Needle. Since they moved a lot, it is unknown where they were living in 1950 when the census came through. So they will have to wait until the indexes are complete then hopefully I will be able to track them down.

Mark's Family

    Not only did I look up my own family, but I also looked up my hubby's family. I'm the one who has done the research on his family so why wouldn't I? I found both his parents and grandparents easily at the addresses I had for them. This is the first year for both of our parents to be on the census. It was neat to see what Mark's grandfather did for a living.

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, St. Louis - 96-1494
National Archives
Rickards Family

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Kirkwood - 95-362
National Archives
Swope Family

    Moving back another generation, one set of Great-Grandparents had lived in the same location and were easy to locate, but the other two were a little tricky. Rev. Hudson Taylor & Sadie McGrew lived in Breckenridge, Missouri, but I had no address for them. Breckenridge was a small town with only two Enumeration Districts and, luckily, they were on the first district. Found them fairly quickly. Rev. McGrew was retired at this point and they were enjoying time with each other and visiting family. Thanks to the census I learned they lived on Maple. Sadly, Rev. McGrew passed away later that year.

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Breckenridge - 13-1
National Archives
McGrew Family

    The only other Great-Grandparent that was living at this time was Mary Alice Swope. She lived on a farm in rural Clinton County, Missouri. She was a little difficult to track down. Their family lived on the farm for many generations & later, her children lived nearby as well. Mary Swope's husband passed away in 1935, but she still lived on their farm in 1940 with two of her daughters, Ethel & Irene. They were right next to one of her sons, James, and his family.
    Now for the 1950 census, they were not next to each other. It probably has to do with the enumerators and which farms they visited in the order they did. Enumeration District lines appeared to be the same as in 1940 so that had nothing to do with it. Whatever the case, thanks to maps, I was able to locate where they should be on the 1950 Census. I explained this in more depth in another blog post: Maps of Clinton County - How Galen & Pearl Met. This time on the census, Irene was the head of the household and her mother, Mary, and sister, Ethel, lived with her. But their brother, James, was not listed in this Enumeration District. Is it possible they moved? Unsure at this time. It will require a bit more research. I do know we will be making another trip up to Clinton County maybe this summer. The good news is I found them on the census.

1950 US Fed Census
Missouri, Lafayette - 25-13
National Archives
Swope Family

   Spreading wide now in Mark's family tree, two ancestors I was excited to find were Ruth & Scottie Rickards. Ruth moved to Iowa from Illinois sometime in the 1920s and after their father died, Scottie moved in with her. Scottie has been a curious ancestor for a while. I wrote about him in a blog post for the 52 Ancestors Challenge: Week 4 - Curious. As you read in the post, there was a lot unknown about him. I've been putting together some information about him as I learn it. The most recent I wrote about in two Friday Finds posts. Westminster College and Update on Scottie Rickards.
    So I was looking forward to seeing the 1950 Census to try to get an idea of when his condition started. I found their address in a 1950 City Directory, so finding them wasn't hard. But I got my answer by looking at the census. Scottie was listed as Unable to Work. So whatever happened, it happened before he moved and sometime after college. Interesting. Another piece of the puzzle is found.

1950 US Fed Census
Iowa, Des Moines - 102-29
National Archives
Rickards Family

    The last ancestor I wanted to find on Mark's side is a living 1st cousin, once removed. I've been in contact with her and her family for a few years now. I got their address directly from her, so I knew it was correct. But finding the Enumeration District was tough. I had to go through a couple of different maps to find it. Read about it here: What If I Can't Find a Street? But I did find the Enumeration District and I did find the ancestor. 

1950 US Fed Census
Texas, Houston/South Side - 101-5
National Archives
Rickards Family

    These are not all the people I looked up in the 1950 census, but the main ones. I did look up ancestors for friends and just for personal fun. Having the Enumeration Districts beforehand really did help locate our ancestors in the 1950 Census. There were only a few times I had to use the preliminary index on the National Archives site. And I am grateful for it as I wouldn't have found my Dad without it. Now that I have found the census pages, it's time to analyze them more closely for clues and information.

    I will also be helping index the census as time goes on. You can help index now on the National Archives site and you can help on Ancestry & Family Search but only on the states they currently have available. I put in for a notification when Missouri is ready to be indexed. 

Who Have You Found??

1950 Census - Ancestry's Explore Maps Feature

     While checking out Ancestry, I stumbled across a new feature I had no idea existed. Have you seen it? It's the "Explore Maps" section for the 1950 Census. What is this you ask? Well apparently you can explore Enumeration District Maps right on Ancestry.com. You can search for an address and it takes you right to that Enumeration District map. Game Changer!

Explore Maps
Ancestry.com

    So after I clicked on the "Explore Maps" button, it took me to a page with prompts to explain how to use this feature. 

Welcome to 1950 Census District Finder
Ancestry.com

    After clicking through, I learned that you can search by an address and it is supposed to find the Enumeration District for you AND bring up the map. Intriguing. And will it work for streets that I can not find on the Enumeration District? Oh we are going to put this to the test right now. 

Start Exploring
Ancestry.com

    After I clicked, "Explore district maps", it took me through a series of prompts explaining how to use the page and what all the buttons are for. I will let you go through those yourself when you visit this page. I decided to dive right in and see how well this was going to work. First, I started with an easy address. Easy meaning I had no trouble finding this Enumeration District when I was looking originally. I started with my Great-Grandma's address of 102 N. Clay, Kirkwood, Missouri. 

Search Option
Enter address to search for district map
Ancestry.com

    As you can see, when you start typing an address, it brings up options for you to chose from. Very handy. The address I needed was the first option. So I selected that and clicked "Search". Here is what it brought up.

Search Results
102 N Clay, Kirkwood, Missouri
ED 95-75
Ancestry.com

    Oh my gosh! Look at that! Now, you can zoom in much closer than this to get a view of the map. But yes, this is correct! Very impressive! But what about streets that didn't exist on the map or were labeled? If you read my last blog post, you will see I had some difficulty tracking down a couple of Enumeration District maps because the streets were not on the maps. Read it here: 1950 Census - What if you can't find a street?

    So I decided to put it to the test. I chose the address 9223 Coral, St. Louis, Missouri. This street was NOT on the Enumeration District Map because they used a map from 1942. That street did not exist in 1942, but it did in 1950. I know because my Great-Grandparents lived there. Confirmed by Family and City Directories. So it took some time to find the correct map, but with the help of Google Maps, I found it. So what is this going to bring up if I search it? Hmm...

Search Results
9223 Coral, St. Louis, Missouri
ED 95-315
Ancestry.com

    Holy Cow! The search engine actually found it! Do you see what I mean? The street isn't even on the map. I can't believe it. So just like what I did, they used other maps to find where the street was and in turn found the correct Enumeration District. Well, I'll be. There are other features that include changing the opacity to view today's map underneath. That's how they were able to determine where the street is.

Opacity Option
Ancestry.com

    If you look to the right of the image, you can see the Opacity Option. You can slide the circle back and forth to change the opacity of the Enumeration District map, so you can see what it looks like today. I haven't played around with all the features yet, but this is cool!

    If you look to the left of the image, you see you can share a link to this map. So you can share this with family and friends (more than likely friends, cause let's be honest, your genealogy friends are the ones who get it). It will create a unique link for you to share. Here is the link I created for this map. Click here: https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/district-map/62308?search=9223+Coral%2C+St.+Louis%2C+Missouri%2C+USA&selection=-90.314985%2C38.551325 *Side Note: You will need to have a subscription to Ancestry to view this map.

    As you can see, this is still in Beta testing mode, so not everyone will have access to this yet. Plus, I believe you will also need an Ancestry subscription to be able to use this feature. I have not tried playing with everything yet as I literally just found this. I wonder how well it works with streets that have changed names as I haven't come across that in my research. But what about Rural Route Numbers? Hmmm...

    I have a 2nd Great Aunt & her 2nd husband that moved around a lot during this time. 2nd Great Uncle Howard Kelley was an architect and he traveled to different parts of the United States for work. Mom said they even lived in the territory of Alaska at one point. She remembers him sending her an Eskimo doll when she was little. Well, one address I have for them is where they settled in Carmel, Indiana. The official address is RR1 Box 60, Carmel, Indiana. That is a tricky address to find on the Enumeration District map. So let's try this.

Search Option
Enter address to search for district map
Ancestry.com

    Holy cow! It actually has this address as an option in the drop-down menu! Are you kidding me? I did NOT expect this. Ok, I selected it. What will it bring up?

Search Results
RR1 Box 60, Carmel, Hamilton, Indiana
ED 29-11

    I can't even believe it. This was an address I could not find on the Enumeration District Map. I had three options depending on where they lived, but this narrowed it down for me. I am just blown away. Lisa Louis Cook had a great video instructing us how to find locations if you only had a Rural Route Number for an address. Watch her video here: 

    I think it's safe to say, I am blown away by this new feature on Ancestry. While I've already found most of the Enumeration District Maps for my ancestors, this is still really cool and can be very helpful to others.

    Downfalls
Ok, one big downfall for this is it appears you have to have an ancestry.com membership to use this feature. I have not confirmed that yet because 1) it's in beta test so not everyone will have access 2)I have a membership account so it obviously showed up for me. Now, I did check a secondary account I have, but again since it's in beta test, it didn't show up for that account. So I am unsure if this will be rolled out to be available to everyone when the 1950 census becomes available or not. 

Another downfall is this is being released just days before the 1950 census is released, so almost everyone has done their research and found the ED maps they need. At least I assume so, because I know I have.

A third downfall is a lot of people are waiting for the Preliminary Index to be released before they do anything, so they won't even mess with this. I could be wrong, but that's just my thinking.

And the last, but big, downfall is that Ancestry is not as up-to-date as the SteveMorse.org One-Step website. Joel Weintraub, one of the developers of the site, put the Ancestry search through an extensive test and found some issues. One big one is an ED was divided up after the fact, Ancestry doesn't have those updates, BUT the SteveMorse.org website DOES have the updates in their search.

    Otherwise, I have to say, I am very impressed with this new feature. As I showed you above, it helped me narrow down a location for my 2nd Great Aunt & Uncle in a Rural area. And it also can help if a street was not available on the Enumeration District Map at the time. But I will still be cross-checking the findings with the SteveMorse.org site.

Side Note
    I am still impressed with how easy it is to navigate the SteveMorse.org website and all the work that has gone into their site to help us as researchers. There are so many search features and helpful tips that have been made available to us that it can not compare with anything else. Plus, IT'S ALL FREE!! Don't forget that. So while this new feature by Ancestry is definitely helpful, I will still be using the SteveMorse.org Website for much of my research because of the accuracy of their resources. 

If you have an Ancestry.com membership, head over and see if you can use this new feature they are beta testing, and let me know what you think. Who are you hoping to find? Did this help you locate a map that previously could not locate? 

Oh by the way...

New Collection on Ancestry: Missouri Birth Registers 1847-1999🍂

     It's a new month, so that means Ancestry has some updates to announce. They have some collections that have been added to their database and others that have been updated. When you go to their main page and scroll down to the bottom, they have a section called "New and Updated Collections". I have to admit, I don't always pay attention to when they update this section (although I should). But what I do check up on is when Crista Cowan uploads new videos on YouTube announcing "What's New at Ancestry".

    You can imagine my surprise when Crista announced that the state of Missouri had some new collections. I couldn't believe it! So I immediately headed over to Ancestry to check out what it was all about. One collection, in particular, is called Missouri Birth Registers 1847-1999. That's quite a large span of years which should encompass the births of many family members. So I headed over to check it out.

    This collection was compiled from the microfilm reels known as Missouri Birth Records from the Missouri State Archives in Jefferson City, Missouri. While there could possibly be quite a bit of information in this collection, so far all I've found is names, birth dates, and location. Read more about this collection on the search page for this database.

    I haven't searched this database completely yet, but I have found some entries for some of my family members including my Mom, Dad, Uncles, and even my husband and myself! Nothing much was included in these entries that I didn't already know, but it's still another database to back up facts. So head over and check out this new database (and others) on Ancestry.com

What Crista Cowan's video:"What's New at Ancestry"

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!

Images & Other Documents

Official Census Bureau Operations & Activity Photos

https://www.census.gov/library/photos.html

1950 Census Photos start on Page 9

Flow Charts from the National Archives

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/195980236

Advertising Campaign for the 1950 Census

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/195980247

Portfolio Control Label

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/195980248

Population Cards per State

https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=*:*&f.parentNaId=2990400&f.level=item&sort=naIdSort%20asc

There is so much you can do to prepare for the coming release of the 1950 census.

You better get on it now!