More Tips on Using the 1950 Census

Now that the 1950 federal census has been released, many of us have attempted to find our families or even ourselves. In looking for your relatives, you may have discovered that some major genealogy websites are in the process of indexing but have different states available. According to a news article from the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Ancestry and FamilySearch have partnered to create an index. Ancestry began by using a proprietary Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology so an entire census index could be released as soon as the census went live from the National Archives in April. Now, FamilySearch volunteers are reviewing and making corrections to that index. The National Archives also released an OCR index and is asking for assistance in finding and correcting errors.

A Day at the Archives Enriches Research

At this year's StLGS annual Family History Conference, “Get in Your Car and Go,” speakers emphasized the importance of researching at archives, libraries, and other non-internet sources. Here is a recent, personal example of exactly how such a trip can enrich your family history research and even solve a few mysteries.

Finding St. Louis Orphanages in the 1950 Census

Did you know the term "orphan" refers to both full orphans and half-orphans? A full orphan means both parents have died or deserted the child. A half-orphan refers to children with one parent still living. Every year, our Ask Louie genealogy advice service receives many questions on researching orphaned ancestors, and this year is no different. With the release of the 1950 U.S. census, we've been busy updating St. Louis orphanage information on our website.  If you are researching an ancestor who was orphaned or half-orphaned in St. Louis and are a member of StLGS, you can access a great deal of information about St. Louis orphans and orphanages on our website.

StLGS June Meetings and Events

We hope you were able to attend our Family History Conference in May, but if you missed it, no worries. The recordings will be available until the middle of August. We have a wonderful hybrid monthly meeting coming up next week, a German Special Interest Group meeting, and a class on Catholic church records. In addition, we have updated the StLGS website to include all of the upcoming meetings and classes for the summer. Time to open your calendars and check out the details below!