1950 Census

The 1950 Census: Roland's guide to surviving The 1950 Census.

• Population of U.S. Residents: 151,325,798
• Population per square mile of land area 42.6
• Percent increase of population from 1940 to 1950: 14.5%
• Number of States: 48
• Top three cities: NYC 7.8M; Chicago 3.6M; Philadelphia 2.1M.
• Pages 61.7K, Cost $91M
• Approximately 6.57 million population schedules
• 33,360 Indian Reservation schedules
• 9,634 enumeration district maps images
• 234,447 enumeration district descriptions

New: Free Seminar - Discover the 1950 U.S. Federal Census

With the release of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census, family historians of all levels are primed to uncover new information about their ancestry—or verify previously known details. Lindsay Fulton will discuss what information is provided and how to search the indexed and non-indexed databases, and provide tips on how the 1950 census can be a springboard to other records. April 14 at 3 p.m. (ET).

https://hubs.americanancestors.org/1950-us-federal-census

Archives.gov has released the 1950 Federal U.S. census films today, April 1, 2022. You may browse them here at the National Archives:

National Archives 1950 Census Search

Census records are made public 72 years after the original census date. The 1950 census was completed in April of 1950. The 1960 census won't be available until April 1, 2032.

Many of the town names in the 1950 census aren't indexed yet. However you can find their Enumeration District numbers and maps by using the sites below.

The Steve Morse Enumeration District number Map Finder

Or use The Ancestry.com Enumeration District number Map Finder

Or just Google "Viewing 1950 Enumeration District Maps in One Step" and click on the second link. Make sure to select 1950.

Many names are also not indexed yet or are indexed improperly. Ancestry.com is attempting an initial index using artificial intelligence. The initial results are promising but contain many errors and are far from comprehensive at this point.

So how can we make use of these new census films - NOW?!?

Here's an example of using the enumeration district maps for the 1950 census. I searched for my great-grandmother Ada (Foss) Stewart (1876-1951) and her second husband Leon Stewart (1891-1968) and found no hits at all. Ada had built a Cape style home at 57 Kirkland Circle in Wellesley, MA and I can see Kirkland Circle in Enumeration District 11-338 using the URL above.

Kirkland Circle in Enumeration District 11-338.

Now I simply go to https://1950census.archives.gov/search/ and enter 11-338 under enumeration district and page through 11-338 using the arrow at the bottom of the image and Ada's census record is now easy to locate. The site has the option to enter a proper transcription of the record so other people can find it later. Currently they are using artificial intelligence to transcribe records. The process is slow and error prone so manual transcriptions will be essential to make these records useful in future.

1950 Census Ada & Leon Stewart in Wellesley, MA

A note about Ada Foss

Ada Foss (1876-1951) was a concert pianist and 17 years an organist for the West Roxbury Unitarian Church. She was the daughter of an author, poet, real estate developer and travel adventurer James Henry Foss by his first wife Mary Hardy Burnham. Ada married first on 20 Dec 1896 in Boston to Frederic Warren Kidder Baker (1872-1941) who was an Ethnobotanist and Pharmacist who traded in London and during the great depression started a W.P.A program to replicate the medicinal herb farms of the Shakers in New England. Ada and Frederic were parents of Roland Henry Baker, Sr. Ada married second in 1921 in Brookline to Leon Osmund Stewart who was 15 years her junior. Leon or “Lan” was in the wholesale office furniture business. They lived until the late 1940’s at the Stewart Homestead site at 45 Forest Street in Wellesley - an enormous lodge that accommodated ten borders and featured formal dining with business professionals each night. They built a home about ten blocks away at 57 Kirkland Circle in Wellesley where Ada died on 14 Apr 1951. Leon married second to May Isabell Feeley in 1952. Here we see Ada and Leon at 57 Kirkland Circle in the 1950 census.

Ada Foss House, 57 Kirkland Circle in Wellesley, MA

Help Us Transcribe Names

One of the wonderful features of the National Archive 1950 census is that you can edit or add transcriptions of names on any population schedule. In the example below for Lionel Richie in the 1950 Census population schedule for Alabama, Macon, 44-4 simply find and click on the “Help Us Transcribe Names” button. After entering your email you will receive a code to enter and you can immediately start correcting name transcriptions or adding new name transcriptions.

Look for the “Help Us Transcribe Names” button: example Lionel Richie in the 1950 Census. 1950 Census population schedule for Alabama, Macon, 44-4.

Where to find Massachusetts county ED maps

• Worcester
• Middlesex
• Bristol
• Essex

1950 Census Columns

1. Column A: Relationship to head of household: Head, either male or female, except head of a hotel, institution, etc
2. Column B: Birthplace [State]
3. Column C: Occupation/industry -- see Deciphering Occupation Codes Appended to the 1950 Census in One Step see also IND1950 Work Codes
4. Column D: Residence in 1939 (codes not yet available)
5. Column E: Parents' country of birth
6. Column F: Income received by person
7. Column G: Income received by relatives in household -- same encoding as in column F
8. Column H: Veteran (codes not yet available)

Link to Really long PDF on technical documentation for the 1950 Census.

Links

1. National Archives 1950 Census
2. NYT: How to Find Newly Released Census Records From 1950
3. FamilySearch.org The 1950 U.S. Census
4. Search for 1950 ED Maps Now!
5. FamilySearch Tips for using the 1950 census including ED maps Currently this only works for some locations.
6. The Wait is Over! The 1950 U.S. Census Now Available on Ancestry®, Powering Countless New Discoveries (note Ancestry.com is slowly adding states here but the National Archives has all states available now.
7. MyHeritage Publishes the 1950 U.S. Census — Search for FREE!
8. FamilyTree 1950 Census Research Guide
9. The Ancestry.com Enumeration District number Map Finder
10. Claire Kluskens’ blog posts about the 1950 U.S. census
11. Stephen P. Morse and Joel D. Weintraub GETTING READY FOR THE 1950 CENSUS: Searching With and Without a Name Index

Military

• Enumerators were instructed not to enumerate Americans, including soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who worked for the United States Government while living abroad in 1950. They only enumerated those living in their enumeration district!!! Sorry Post-WWII and especially Korean War pups!
• The names and rank of a few U.S. military personnel overseas are included in correspondence in Binder 36-C, Members of Armed Forces and U.S. Citizens Abroad, available here from the National Archives.
• Officers and crews of U.S. flagged vessels are likely found in an enumeration district in either the vessel’s home port or where the vessel was on April 1, 1950 (the official census day).
• See also Fold3 Blog

Videos

• The National Archives has a 1950 census genealogical series including videos and slides / handouts. The slides / handouts can be downloaded directly from their site. Some of the videos are now also available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLugwVCjzrJsXFn9KliguHFDLm8l-...
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqD-w_hDRsU Nicka Smith's Guide to using The Ancestry.com Enumeration District number Map Finder
• NGS and Family Search 1950 Census Project Webinar 8 February 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKuRwapEr34
• Joel Weintraub's 1950 Census Video series: https://www.youtube.com/c/JDWTalks
• Thomas MacEntee’s posts about the 1950 U.S. census

History Hub and FAQs

• Have a question? The National Archives has FAQs and a "Historyhub" Forum where you can ask questions about the 1950 census.

1950's Science and Technology:

• The first true credit card, accepted by multiple merchants, the Diners Club card
• Transistor radios
• Color television broadcasting
• Teflon
• Superglue
• Home-use microwave ovens
• Fortran
• video tape recorder
• Velcro
• The heart-lung machine used for cardiopulmonary bypass
• Bar codes
• The polio vaccine
• The hydrogen bomb
• Oral contraceptives
• Lasers

Who did you find in the 1950 census?

Good luck with your research!

Roland Henry Baker, III

See also:

1. New England Gateway Ancestors of Proven Royal Descent
2. Mid-Atlantic Gateway Ancestors of Proven Royal Descent
3. Southern Atlantic Gateway Ancestors of Proven Royal Descent
4. Marblehead Genealogy Project

Life is short - Do Genealogy First --- <Roland Rhoades Maine Families Genealogist>