Thursday, April 5, 2012

Update on 1940 Census at Ancestry

In my spare moments I've been online looking at the 1940 census. It was interesting to see people on the census that I have known socially. I still have a little thrill when I find the name I'm looking for! And here's some exciting news:

"Insider scoop for you: we should have every page, all 3.8 million of them, online on Ancestry.com sometime tomorrow (latest ETA is by 2 p.m. Eastern Friday – maybe sooner). At the same time, we’ll be launching a handful of tools that can help you find answers in those images."

So, today while I take breaks from redecorating my bedroom, I'm going to be looking to see what kinds of tools and resources they have available.  I just found out that there is an Ancestry You Tube channel with videos that can familiarize you on using the census at Ancestry. Find info on Facebook too. Ancestry has an interesting blog with stories and information, called Sticky Notes. 

Once the images are up, what next? 

"What’s Next Once all images are uploaded, we’ll move the focus to creating a searchable index for all 132 million records. (FYI, this process has been underway since we picked up the images at 12:01 a.m. Monday) As soon as the first state is ready, we will let you know. In the meantime, we want to know what questions you have and what questions you are hearing from your friends and followers. Please submit them to ask@ancestry.com and put “1940 FAQ” in the subject line. Based on your questions, we will create a Frequently Asked Questions document that can be shared."

The index will be so helpful!  Once the index is up, I'll go through name by name in my trees to find them on the census.

Have you been looking in the 1940 census pages?  I would love to hear your stories!




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