1940 United States Census
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The 1940 federal census was taken as the country was still recovering from the Great Depression, at the cusp of World War II.
It asked a number of questions, including:
1. street name
2. house number
3. number household in order of visitation
4. home owned or rented
5. value of home (if owned), monthly rental (if rented)
6. does the household live on a farm
7. name (enumerator to write ab after names of person absent from house; write “infant” for children under 1 with no first name; a circled X was to be written after the name of the person furnishing information)
8. relationship to head of household
9. sex
10. color or race
11. age at last birthday
12. marital status
13. attended school or college since March 1, 1940
14. highest grade completed
15. place of birth
16. citizenship of foreign born
17. city town or village of residence April 1, 1935
18. county of residence April 1, 1935
19. state, territory, or foreign country of residence April 1, 1935
20. was residence on a farm April 1, 1935
21. at work the week of March 24–30, 1940
22. if not, was the person assigned emergency public work for WPA, NYA, CCC, etc. during that week
23. if no to the two previous questions, was the person seeking work
24. if no to previous question, does the person have a job
25. engaged in home work (H), in school (S), unable to work (U), or other (Ot)
26. if working, number of hours worked March 24–30, 1940
27. if seeking work or on emergency work, duration of unemployment, in weeks, up to March 30, 1940
28. trade, profession, or particular kind of work
29. industry or business in which at work
30. class of worker [employee (E), wage or salary worker (W), or own account (O)]
31. number of weeks worked in 1939
32. amount or money wages or salary received in 1939
33. did this person receive income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary
34. number of farm schedule
Additional questions were asked of the people who randomly appeared on lines 14 and 29 of each schedule:
-name
-place of birth of father
-place of birth of mother
-language spoken in home in earliest childhood
-veteran or wife, widow, or under-18 child of a veteran of U.S. military forces
-if child, is father dead
-war or military service
The next questions were only for those 14 years old and older:
-does this person have a Federal Social Security Number
-were deductions for Federal Old-Age Insurance or Railroad Retirement Board made in 1939
-if so, were deductions made from 1. all, 2. one-half, or 3. part (but less than one-half) of wages or salary
-usual occupation
-usual industry
-usual class of worker [employee (E), wage or salary worker (W), or own account (O)]
The last series of questions is for women who were or had been married:
-has this woman been married more than once (yes/no)
-ages at first marriage
-number of children ever born (not including stillbirths)
This census was the first to indicate who actually provided the information to the enumerator, a very valuable piece of information that helps you to determine how accurate the information might be. There were also clearly detailed questions about the workforce in light of the Great Depression.
Indexes, whether manuscript, printed, or digital, are nowhere near perfect. Because names are easily misread by people unfamiliar with certain localities, indexes can be filled with incorrect names. This situation is only exacerbated in cases where residents do not necessarily speak the same primary language as the census taker. One way to find your missing ancestors is to look for families that lived next to them in previous or succeeding censuses. Search for those families and scan the pages around them. Also try to use a city or telephone directory to help you determine the correct address for ancestors, and then cross check that information with what you find in the census. Hidden ancestors may pop right out at you.Original data: Sixteenth Census of the United States, Bureau of the Census. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 29. Micropublication T627.For more information about the 1940 census, visit www.census.gov.
Original data: Sixteenth Census of the United States, Bureau of the Census. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 29. Micropublication T627.
