Correcting Indexing Errors 1940 Census

The following is from the Ancestry.com blog ~

How Can I Improve the 1940 U.S. Census?

Posted by Nick Cifuentes on August 15, 2012 in Ancestry.com Site

 

Changing a name or other indexed details
First thing to do when you discover an error in an indexed name or other detail on the 1940 census or any collection on ancestry.com, is fix it. By adding your own corrections or alternative names – even a nickname if you know your family member regularly went by one – you’ll help other people searching for the same individual find him or her even faster. And your later searches for that same individual will produce results with the name you’ve added, too.
There are two places you can add your own corrections and alternatives: from the index page or while viewing the actual census image.
From the index page
Select View/Add Alternate Information from the Page Tools box on the left. Then follow the instructions to update the information about the individual with your changes.

While viewing the census image
Hover over the specific entry, or box, you’d like to change in the index at the bottom of the screen and a pencil icon will appear. Select the box and follow the instructions to update the information.

You’ll find step-by-step instructions for making changes here.
Reporting a problem with the image itself
On occasion, the census image itself may be causing the problem. In these instances, contact our Member Services team at 1-800-ANCESTRY to report the problem.
Why it matters
Submitting an alternative or a correction to an index adds that information to the index itself. Within a few weeks, the information you’ve provided becomes publicly searchable as well making it easier for other people to find answers, too. Alternatively, reporting an image problem to our Member Services team alerts us to review the image so we can attempt to correct it.
What to do when you can’t find your family member in the indexed 1940 U.S. Census
On occasion, an index discrepancy may make it difficult to find your family member in the 1940 U.S. Census. In that instance, you may want to search for your family member by “browsing” images instead. Our Free downloadable guide will show you the steps to discovering your family by browsing.

[See the beginning of this article here: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2012/08/15/how-can-i-improve-the-1940-u-s-census/]

1940 Census Index Completed on Ancestry.com

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Ancestry.com has announced that the company has now completed the indexing of the 1940 U.S. Census records and that the index is available for everyone to use. Go here to learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census. 

PROVO, UTAH – (August 3, 2012) – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, is proud to announce that it has completed the records indexing process for the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, now fully indexed.  Search every name, state and territory for FREE.

On April 1, 1940 history was made as the 16th U.S. Census was taken in America and its territories. And today, each of the 134 million records is ready for you to explore here on Ancestry.com. Simply search for your family member by name and you could find records that include details like address, age, occupation, income, education level and more.  

“We are so excited to be publishing our index to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census for free on Ancestry.com,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “As one of the most anticipated family history resources ever, the 1940 Census is a fantastic way for almost every American to get started making discoveries about their family history as well as a key new resource for so many of our two million existing subscribers. Experienced through our new Interactive Image Viewer, the stories and discoveries inside the 1940 Census really come to life.” Almost 90% of Americans has a relative in the 1940 Census. See who you can discover, right now. Search the 1940 Census.

1940 Census Index on Ancestry.com

Just in from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter (EOGN):

This morning Ancestry.com added 15 more states to the 1940 US Census database. The following states are now available free of charge at http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census:

• California
• Washington
• Kansas
• Nebraska
• Oregon
• Alabama
• Indiana
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Arizona
• New Hampshire
• Michigan
• Wisconsin
• Montana
• Hawaii

Note: the addition of Indiana & Kentucky!!!

Indexed states include: AL, AZ, CA, CO, DC, DE, GA, HI, KS, KY, IN, ME, MI, MT, NE, NH, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, VT, WA, WI

That is 26 states are done on Ancestry!!!

1940 Census Project Indexing - Now 75% Complete

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[The following was on Dick Eastman's newsletter today http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/06/1940-census-project-indexing-is-now-75-percent-complete.html]:


A report Friday by Dennis Brimhall, CEO of Family Search, said the volunteers indexing the 1940 U S Federal Census are well ahead of schedule. More than 137,000 volunteers are creating the indexes, with that number growing by nearly 1,000 indexers a day.

At last report:

• 105,522,592 names have been indexed and arbitrated.
• 29 states have searchable indexes on FamilySearch.org. These states include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
• 2 additional states are 100% indexed and arbitrated and are in the final stage of preparation for posting.
• 6 additional states are 75% or more indexed and arbitrated. To see the status of each state visit the 1940 US Census state-by-state progress map on the FamilySearch website.
• The 1940 US Census is 75% indexed and arbitrated.
• 143,086 indexers have signed up to index the 1940 US Census.

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Using the FamilySearch.org indexed search engine for Indiana, I quickly found my parents and Dad's mother & sister, as well as, my future step-grandfather... I could not find them before.

Household:	Gender	/Age/	Birth
Head	Viola West	F	41	KY
Son	Gaither G West	M	21	KY
Daughter-in-law	Bernadine West	F	18	IN
Daughter	Doris V West	F	17	KY
Roomer	Edgar Lee Gilkey	M	43	KY

1940 U.S. Census - 18 States Searchable

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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (June 7, 2012) – 1940 U.S. CENSUS COMMUNITY PROJECT MAKES HISTORIC RECORDS FOR 18 STATES SEARCHABLE BY NAME, CELEBRATES MILESTONE OF 75 MILLION NAMES INDEXED THROUGH NATIONAL VOLUNTEER EFFORT

More than Half of the 1940 U.S. Census Records Indexed in Just Two Months Thanks to Thousands of Volunteers Across the U.S. [Written by FamilySearch]

This was reported on 08 Jun 2012 in Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Thanks to the efforts of more than 125,000 volunteers, more than 75 million names from the 1940 U.S. census have been indexed with 18 state records already available to the public on all Project partner websites, including the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Archives.com, FamilySearch.org and findmypast.com. The records will also be made available in more than 7,000 public libraries nationwide in the coming months by ProQuest. The national service project, the first and largest of its kind, aims to establish a comprehensive searchable database and make the 1940 U.S. census records available for free.

Following just two months of volunteer indexing, records for the following 18 U.S. states are currently available and searchable by name, location and family relation: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.

Read more on Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter (link above). 

"Today is a big day for genealogists!"

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Finally, it is here!

The 1940 Census

To the right is an image of a blank 1940 Census original form, you can see the brown discoloration. Click on image to enlarge it.

Bookmark this URL: http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/

This site lets you copy data onto a "fillable" form & print it out:

http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/1940-census-form-fillable.pdf

Visit Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter for his article on the 1940 Census release:

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/04/1940-us-census-to-be-unveiled-on-monday-morning.html

Here is some stats that may be of interest:

3.8 million images will show the handwritten forms created by census takers who went door to door to record data for all 132.2 million Americans living in 1940. About 21 million Americans who are listed in the 1940 records may still be alive today!

Go here for a great video about the 1940 Census that includes some cool 1940's news video clips: http://1940census.archives.gov/

Questions Asked For the 1940 Census:

Many of the questions on the 1940 census are the standard ones: name, age, gender, and race, education, and place of birth. But the 1940 census also asks many new questions. The instructions ask the enumerator to enter an [a circled x] after the name of the person furnishing the information about the family; whether the person worked for the CCC, WPA, or NYA the week of March 24-30, 1940; and income for the 12 months ending December 31, 1939. The 1940 also has a supplemental schedule for two names on each page. The supplemental schedule asks the place of birth of the person's father and mother; the person's usual occupation, not just what they were doing the week of March 24-30, 1940; and for all women who are or have been married, has this woman been married more than once and age at first marriage.

Go here for a complete list of questions with further details:

http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/general-info.html#questions

Here is the first part of the National Archives' Press Release:

February 21, 2012

National Archives Announces Website for Free 1940 Census Release Online on April 2, 2012: 1940census.archives.gov

Tomorrow Starts the Countdown of ’40 Days to the ’40 Census’

Washington, DC…Today the National Archives, with its partner Archives.com, launched its new websitewww.1940census.archives.gov in preparation for its first-ever online U.S. census release, which will take place on April 2, 2012, at 9 a.m. (EST). The public is encouraged to bookmark the website now in order to more quickly access the 1940 census data when it goes live. No other website will host the 1940 census data on its April 2 release date.

- Compiled by JGWest

1940 U.S. Federal Census

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Join IGS In Indexing 1940 Census

The Indiana Genealogical Society has joined forces with genealogy societies and organizations around the country as part of the1940 U.S. Census Community Project. The initiative aims to publish a free, online searchable name index of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census after images of the census are released to the public on Monday, April 2, 2012. This online index will be free forever, offering family history researchers a rich genealogical data set for their ongoing use. Three leading genealogy organizations, Archives.com, FamilySearch International, and FindMyPast.com, launched the initiative at the end of last year.

[Above submitted by Chris Myers]

[The following was submitted by TSGS President Don Counts]

Dear TSGS President,

Thank you again for your participation in the 1940 US Census Community Project. Your leadership in this effort will be a key to getting the entire 1940 census online and searchable.

In an effort to provide you with tools to help your group members get started with the 1940 U.S. census project, we have put together an email template you can send to new members. The email covers the basics of getting started and includes links to handouts and videos that provides instruction on the signup process, downloading the software, and specifying in the software which society or group they belong to. You can download a copy of the email template from the project website.

You can find additional group administrator training materials online.

Thank you again for all you are doing to further this project. For questions and support, please contact the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project Team:

• Phone: 1-855-IDX-1940
• Email: support@the1940census.com

Warm Regards,
1940 U.S. Census Community Project Team

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Time is drawing close for the release of the 1940 census records.

The 1940 Census will be made available for Free at 9AM April 2 at the

following site.

_http://www.archives.com/1940census_ (http://www.archives.com/1940census)

Sharon Tabor KYGenWeb Project

"Back to the Future!" (67 Days to 1940) - Revised

* [See revision at bottom of this blog.]

Ancestry.com is a paid online service, but offers a lot for the money... I nor TSGS endorses this commercial service. I wonder if I should have called this "Forward to the Past!" Anyhow, I just wanted to share with our readers the chart below from their web site.

Ancestry is also featuring a countdown to the official release of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census... only 67 days to go! The census will be released on 02 Apr 2012.

Ancestry is working with NBC to provide season 3 of "Who Do You Think You Are" beginning Friday Feb. 3rd 8/7c.

* Don Counts sent me this link http://the1940census.com/ that includes lots of good info about the census and an opportunity for genealogical societies like TSGS to help with the indexing project: http://the1940census.com/society/