Navigating the 1950 Census

The purpose of The Compass Rose is to raise awareness of Special Collections' resources and to foster the use of these resources. The blog series also reports significant new programs, initiatives, and acquisitions of Special Collections. 

The 1950 Census was released on April 1, 2022, and is now available to use. Using Census Records can be complex, but we hope this blog post can help first time researchers make the best use of these records and veteran researchers find new tips and tricks. 

The first Federal Census in the United States was taken in 1790. Article I Section 2 of the US Constitution calls for a census (referred to as an Enumeration) to be taken every ten years. Knowing how many people lived in a geographic area was vital because it would determine the amount of Representatives that would serve a region in the House of Representatives, and would help determine how much taxes would be paid by a region. Census Records also help estimate tax rates, study population trends, and keep track of the kind of jobs, education, and even religion of a population. 

Contemporary researchers can use Census Records to find out about their family history and the history of different cities and communities. Researchers must keep in mind that Census Records have historically been created by volunteers and workers going from home to home and writing down information as shared by those living in the home. There are many opportunities for human error in the course of collecting information for Census Records.

Misspellings are common both in records as they were originally written (particularly in cases where families have non-English names) and in subsequent indexes made by genealogy and historical organizations. Researchers must keep in mind that if there is difficulty finding an individual, it is helpful to expand searches by adjusting spelling patterns. Smith can become Smyth, Lopez can become Lopes, and more extreme variations of names and surnames are not rare. Phonetic spelling was often used when census takers did not know how to spell a name, and both language differences and illiteracy made it difficult for people to correct census takers. When looking for an individual in a census record, try different spellings of their name, or try looking up other people known to be in their family. Records can also be viewed according to location, so while it would take a bit longer it is sometimes helpful to read through Census Records page by page.

Censuses reflect a small window of time. Families may have been living in a home or city for a short period of time when a census was taken, so it is important to not assume that families lived in one location for the entire time between censuses. City Directories can provide more up-to-date information about who is living at a property, but records will not be as up-to-date as records created in real time. 

Census takers did not require legal forms of identification to verify a person's information, and for much of American history, legal identification was neither uniform nor existent.  An individual may have been told by their parents that they were born in Oregon, or a person may not remember where their spouse was born. Ages can vary due to miscommunication, and race can often be inaccurately recorded. Census takers would sometimes determine the race of occupants based off of skin tone, reflecting a very inaccurate understanding of race and ethnicity. 

While there are margins for errors in Census Records, these records are vital resources for genealogists, historians, and people just curious about the past. 

This section, For All Persons, contains the biographical information of people recorded in the census. The head of the household is listed first, but it is not limited to male husbands. The head of the house could be a mother or landlord if said landlord was living on the property. Names listed are written in a specific order: the head of the house, followed by his wife (it was assumed that the husband was the head of the home), followed by their unmarried children according to age, and followed by the names of other family members, lodgers, or employees living on the property. The next column identifies the relationship of the person to the head of the household. This can provide vital genealogical information and should not be skipped over. Orphaned children living with relatives will be identified as something other than "son" or "daughter". Ignoring this section could lead to confusing parentage information. 

Race was a section that looks unlike what contemporary people would understand as Race. Negro was used instead of African American or Black, and the only major Asian ethnic groups were identified as Japanese, Chinese, or Filipino. Native Americans  or Indigenous Peoples were identified as American Indian, although some census records will record specific Nations and Tribes. Other racial groups could be specified in the column. Mexican Americans and other Hispanics/Latinos were legally identified by the US Government as white through court rulings, and this identity is reflected in state records from the 1920s and 1930s. However, census records often noted the race of Mexican Americans and other Latin American diasporas by their country of origin (or assumed country of origin). The sex, age, marital states, location of birth (whether it was in a State within the US or a different country) and whether or not the individual was a naturalized citizen were also recorded. 

The final section of the census is For Persons 14 and Older. This section includes information about an individual's employment or lack thereof, their field of employment, whether or not they were in the armed forces, and whether they worked for a private employer, the government, their own business, or worked without pay for a family business. This kind of information can help researchers get a better understanding of the kind of work their ancestors did. Like the other sections, the accuracy of this section may not be exact, but it is nevertheless a vital window into the economy of the past. 

Census Records are under the care of the National Archives, and can be viewed on the National Archives website, or on genealogy websites such as FamilySearch and Ancestry. These sites offer both searches through digital indexes, where researchers can enter the name of individuals, or through browsing by region. 

Census Records are a vital part of our history, and we are grateful to the enumerators who did their best to record the history of our people!