Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting – April 14, 2022
On April 14, 2022, the
Madison County Genealogical Society held a meeting at the Edwardsville Public
Library.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
The following is the Treasurer's report for
the month of March:
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $25.00
Patron Annual Membership $35.00
Institutional Membership $25.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at [email protected], about a gift membership.
April
Meeting
On April 14, 2022, Mary Westerhold presented a program titled What Makes the 1950
Census Different and Why You Should Search It!
The 1950 Federal Census is
available, FREE OF CHARGE, on the National Archives Records and Administration
(NARA) website: heeps://1950census.archives.gov/.
The overview of the differences
between the 1940 and 1950 census is shown below.
1940 Census
· 132 Million people counted
· 40 Lines per sheet
· 2 persons asked sample questions
1950 Census
· 151 Million people counted
· 30 Lines per sheet
· 6 persons asked sample questions and the 6th
person asked additional questions
Overview of the differences
between the release of the 1940 and 1950 censuses by NARA
1940 Census
· Website crashed within hours
· Names were not indexed
1950 Census
· WEBSITE DID NOT CRASH
· Names were indexed and searchable
What’s New
& Unique about the 1950 Census Release
(According
to the Website https://1950Census.archives.gov)
· First time using optical character recognition/artificial
intelligence (OCR/AI) for handwriting recognition
· First time
using a transcription tool to improve the name index
· First chance to
download the entire census in bulk
· First time
releasing the census during a pandemic
· First time
people were asked if they owned a TV
1950 Census
Records That Were Not Retained
· Separate Infant Cards were completed for babies born
in January, February, and March 1950 (the enumeration occurred on April 1,
1950). Statistical data was compiled but the cards were never microfilmed and
then were destroyed.
· Military personnel and their dependents overseas were
counted but only used for informational purposes and not retained.
· The back side of form P1
contained information about the individuals’ housing. The data was tabulated
but never microfilmed.
· Agricultural schedules were completed, compiled, and
the individual information was destroyed, but never microfilmed.
1950 Census
Fun Facts
· More training for enumerators — video can be viewed
online
· Advertising campaign to encourage people to answer the
questions — Slideshow can be viewed online
· Form P8 — Native Americans who lived on
Reservations were enumerated on the standard P1 form but also on the P8 form
where additional information regarding Native American names, tribes, etc., was
recorded. If they did not live on a reservation, Native Americans were only
enumerated on the standard P1 form.
· College and University students were enumerated where
they lived most of the year, such as their dorm room, off campus apartments,
etc.
· Special effort made to enumerate people who lived in
hotels, military personnel in barracks in the U.S., transients, and homeless.
· Different standard census forms were used in Alaska
(P82), Hawaii (P87), American Samoa (P80), Guam (P85), Panama Canal Zone (P91)
Puerto Rico (P93), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (P97).
· Crew members of U.S.–flag commercial and military vessels in U.S.
and territorial ports were enumerated.
1950 Census
Enumeration Fun Facts
· Self-enumeration on “household” forms was tested in
Ingham and Livingston Counties, Michigan, and Franklin County, Ohio.
· The 1950
Census was the last census where an enumerator visited most households carrying
a multi-family form.
Reasons to
Search the 1950 Census
· First appearance of the Baby Boom generation in the
census
· First Post–WWII
census snapshot
· You’ll see the
names of your relatives and ancestor, where they lived and the relationships
within the family.
· You’ll find out
where they were living and get the actual address.
· You can help
correct or add to the index. (Have you ever tried to correct a name on
Ancestry.com?)
After this portion of the
presentation, Mary demonstrated how searches were done on the index, searching
for family members of some of those present. A couple of the names being
searched for were misinterpreted by the OCR/AI and Mary showed how corrections
could be made. You have to obtain a permission code to make changes on each
search, but it is not difficult.
Although the audience was small, this presentation
was very well received, especially the demonstration. The comments and
questions caused the meeting almost until the library closing time.