Preparing for the 1950 Federal Census

During the past few weeks, the federal census has been back in the news for a variety of reasons. As genealogists, we know that the United States conducts a census of its citizens every ten years. The first federal census began after the Revolutionary War, in 1790, and, with the exception of the 1890 census, which was largely destroyed because of fire damage and neglect, we have a fairly complete set of records covering about 230 years. Genealogists also know how valuable the censuses are in compiling our family histories. Questions on family origin, immigration and naturalization, education, wealth, property, and relationships often reveal a surprising amount of information and help us solve innumerable problems.

Many of us reacted with surprise and disappointment when we saw how little information was collected in the 2020 census. Because of the pandemic, the political tone of the country, and privacy concerns, the number of questions was held to a minimum. Our descendants are not likely to learn much from the census in which we just participated. 

We, on the other hand, have profited greatly from what we currently have available and many of us are eagerly anticipating April 2022, when, according to federal law, seventy-two years will have expired, and the 1950 census will be released to the public. Although there has been some speculation that the census will be indexed before it is posted online, Steve Morse, owner of a website that many people use for access to passenger manifests and census assistance, has already been posting finding aids, just in case.

Getting a Head Start on the 1950 Census

On the Steve Morse website's home page, scroll down to the "U.S. Census" section, and you will find some links to get you started. First, you will find an informative essay entitled “Getting Ready for the 1950 Census: Searching without a Name Index.” This article will walk you through the steps to take, if the census is released without a complete index. Of special importance is an analysis of the questions asked in 1940 compared to those asked in 1950. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the article to read about the anomalies in this census so you have an idea of who was counted, why the page numbers are different from previous years, and what the gaps between those numbers mean. 

While you are on Steve Morse’s website, you may also want to look at the enumeration district maps for 1950 because they will not be the same as those for 1940. An enumeration district was the geographic area that a census taker (enumerator) was expected to cover and, depending on whether the enumerator was in an urban or rural setting, the amount of distance varied widely. Boundaries were redrawn for each census, as population in an area increased or decreased. 

Next, take a look at a series of articles on the U.S. Census Bureau’s website, “1950 Census: Procedural Studies of the 1950 Censuses No. 2: The 1950 Censuses—How They Were Taken.”  If your first question is, “Why does this say ‘censuses’?” you will definitely want to look at the website because there was not just a population schedule in 1950 but housing, agriculture, irrigation, and drainage censuses as well. You can browse through a series of individual PDF files or look at the whole report at once.

And finally, a bit more interesting reading awaits you at the U.S. Census Bureau’s website in the form of  a treatise called Measuring America: The Decennial Census from 1790 to 2000, written by Jason Gauthier, who worked in the Economics and Statistics Administration. 

Mr. Gauthier included complete instructions for the census takers for each census. This will help explain why your ancestors who might have been in a medical facility were called "inmates" or what exactly a "housekeeper" meant. (In 1870, for example, “The term ‘housekeeper’ will be reserved for such persons as receive distinct wages or salary for the service. Women keeping house for their own families or for themselves, without any other gainful occupation, will be entered as ‘keeping house.’ Grown daughters assisting them will be reported without occupation."

This document is especially important because directions changed from census to census and the labels didn’t always mean the same thing. You will see the questions asked for each census, the instructions to the early marshals and assistants who gathered the information, and then, in 1880, those marshals were replaced by enumerators, who had very specific duties. You may want to download a copy to keep on hand but think twice before printing, as the document is almost 150 pages long!