What Was Your Family Doing in 1950?

Have you wondered what your family was doing in 1950? You can soon find out! We have waited the required 72 years! On April 1^st of this year, the National Archives will release the 1950 census. Every man, woman, and child living in the United States should have been counted in the census enumeration on April 1^st, 1950. This will be a massive and extraordinary event for those who are interested in learning about their family history. Indexing will begin immediately, however, it will take about six months to get a reliable index. Don’t want to wait another six months on an index? - there are specialized tools available to help locate individuals and families in the census. .

The 1950 census was the last one in which enumerators personally visited every household. Beginning in 1960, mail-in forms were sent out.

So what can you learn from the 1950 census about your relatives (or even yourself if you were living in 1950)? 

1) Information on the house number and street or road on which the person/family resided

2) Whether it was a farm or ranch and consisted of three or more acres

3) Name of each person in the household and their relationship to the head

4) Race for each person

5) Sex for each person

6) Marital Status for each person

7) State of Country of birth for each person

8) Naturalization status if foreign born

9) For all persons age 14 or over, details are provided about their employment status, their occupation, and the industry in which they worked.

In addition to this, the person listed on every 6^th line was asked “Sample” Questions.

These include:

1) Whether living in same house and same county a year before?

2) Country of birth of each parent

3) Highest grade of school attended

4) Additional information on employment including how much money earned from working and other sources in 1949.

5) Additional information on how much his or her relatives living in the same household earned from various sources in 1949.

6) If male, whether he served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I, World War II, or any other time?

In addition to this, one person on each page was asked additional questions about previous jobs, previous marriages, number of years since last married, widowed, divorced, or separated, and if female, the number of children ever born, not counting stillbirths.

As you can see, this census release will reveal a LOT of detail.

Backstory Bloodhound, LLC is offering a lookup service to help you find your family in the 1950 census. If interested, please submit the following information or as much as is known to me at rick@backstorybloodhound.com

What Do You Need to Send?

1) The full name of the specific individual you would like to find in the 1950 census, including any nicknames.

2) His or her date of birth or at minimum, an approximate age on April 1, 1950.  The state where he or she was born.

3) As much detail as you have on where he or she was living on April 1, 1950. If a rural area, please give the county and either the township/precinct or at least the closest town. (This is a must!) If an urban area, the exact address is most helpful. If the exact address is not known, a street or another nearby landmark is helpful. (I may be able to find them in a city directory also so don’t let this hinder the search if you do not know the exact address or street).

4) Whom do you believe this person was living with in 1950?

5) Your name and e-mail address where you would like the information sent. I may need to contact you if additional information is needed before/during the search.

Note: The individual must have been living in the United States. 

What will you receive?

A scan of a handwritten transcription on a template form providing you with every piece of information recorded in the 1950 census about that individual and every member of the household in which he or she was living. Exception: If the individual lived in a group facility such as a retirement home, prison, rooming house, dormitory, etc., only information on the specific individual will be provided.

What will this cost?

$20 payable in advance via Paypal or a physical check can be mailed to Backstory Bloodhound, LLC, P.O. Box 133, Metropolis, IL 62960.  You can pay with Paypal by going to the Services Tab and scrolling to the section on 1950 Census. 

NOTE:

Searching will begin in April 2022. If I cannot find the individual you specify, a refund of $19 will be issued (The $1 is for Paypal fees). 

Backstory Bloodhound, LLC can also search and provide information on any other census – 1940, 1930, 1920, 1910, etc. for $10 per household per census year. You will receive a handwritten transcription on a template form with every piece of information recorded for their household from that census.

Backstory Bloodhound, LLC is a full research business offering on-site historical and genealogical research in southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri.  We offer a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation as well and can help you with online research (including a plan for beginning genealogists) or the development of research plans. Check out the options by clicking on the Services tab above. Contact me today at rick@backstorybloodhound.com