The data is live at https://1950census.archives.gov and working as expected!
Author: clairekluskens
ICYMI: 50 Million Images Added to NARA’s Catalog Since August 2020
With all the excitement and preparation for the 1950 census over the past several months, you may have missed it: Millions of images of textual records keep being added to NARA’s online Catalog.
According to NARA’s “Record Group Explorer” webpage, as of March 2022 there are 161,492,780 scans online representing 1.393% of the approximate estimated total of 11.5 billion textual pages in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.
One month earlier, in February 2022, that number was 159,188,420 images: so in just one month, 2,304,360 images were added!
Back in August 2020, there were 111,114,108 images in the Catalog, so in 18 months, 50,378,672 images were added.
Fifty million, that’s a pretty big number. Considering that this growth happened during a pandemic that limited staff access to the buildings – and to the records – that’s pretty impressive.
NARA’s 1950 Census Website Launches April 1
Get ready now with a sneak-peek from Michael Knight in NARA’s Genealogy Series: The 1950 Census Website: Design, Development, and Features to Expect, that premiered today, 30 March 2022. Researchers will be able to search by state, county, Enumeration District, name, and Indian Reservation.
The name search feature will not return perfect results on Day 1, however, for reasons outlined in the blog post, 1950 Census: Please Help NARA Refine the Draft Name Index! Researchers can help themselves — and everyone — by using the easy-to-use transcription tool to add complete names.
U.S. Census Bureau Webinar to Provide Overview Ahead of 1950 Census Records Release, March 14, 2022, 1 p.m.
The U.S. Census Bureau hosted a webinar on Monday, March 14, 2022, at 1 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, to give the media and data users an overview of 1950 Census records set to be released from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on April 1.
The webinar highlighted statistics from the 1950 Census, the historical context to how the 1950 Census was conducted, and provided information from the NARA on how to access these records when they become available to the public and what resources are available now. The presenters are:
- Sharon Tosi Lacey, U.S. Census Bureau, chief historian
- Marc Perry, U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, senior demographer
- Claire Kluskens, National Archives and Records Administration, genealogy/census subject-matter expert and digital projects archivist
- Jewel Jordan, U.S. Census Bureau, Public Information Office, public affairs specialist (moderator)
Webinar video, slides, and other information
Resources: 1950 Census Records Release Press Kit
This post was updated 30 March 2022.
NARA’s 1950 Census Genealogy Series Begins March 2, 2022
NARA’s 2022 Genealogy Series begins March 2, 2022, and it focuses on the 1950 census:
- March 2: Overview of What’s on the 1950 Census
- March 16: Mapping the 1950 Census: Census Enumeration District Maps at the National Archives
- March 30: The 1950 Census Website: Design, Development, and Features to Expect
- April 27: The Story of the 1950 Census Form P8, Indian Reservation Schedule
- May 11: From Parchments to Printouts: History of the Census from 1790 to 1950
- May 18: History of Census Records at the National Archives
- May 25: Historic Census Bureau Sources for Filipino, Guamanian and Chamorro, American Samoan, and Native Hawaiian Research
You’ll definitely want to watch NARA staffer Michael Knight’s March 30 program on the 1950 Census website — which will allow — on Day 1 — name searches AND allow users to help NARA improve this “first draft” name index.
Additional lectures may be scheduled – so check back at https://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-series/2022.
All lectures premiere at 1 p.m. Eastern time – and remain online afterwards on NARA’s Youtube Channel. See you at the program!
Recent Discussions on U.S. Civil War Records
Civil War Talk Radio with Gerald Prokopowicz recently had two informative episodes that featured guests with connections to the National Archives.
On 23 February 2022, archives specialist Jackie Budell discussed Civil War widows’ pension files, photographic materials in pension files, research at the National Archives, and related subjects.
On 2 February 2022, retired senior military archivist DeAnne Blanton discussed the origins of the Society for Women and the Civil War, of which she served as first president, and her book, They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War, on the 20th anniversary of its publication.
These and all other Civil War Talk Radio shows remain available for listening at Impediments of War.
NARA 1950 Census Webpages Now Online
This week the National Archives launched several webpages devoted to the 1950 census, including the main page, 1950 Census Records, at https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1950. Information on these pages will undoubtedly evolve over time. The supporting informational pages include:
- Questions Asked on the 1950 Census
- FAQs about the 1950 Census
- Finding Aids for the 1950 Census
- Instructions for Enumerators and the Public
- Census Forms in the 1950 Census Dataset
- 1950 Census Informational and Training Videos
- 1950 Census Published Statistical Data
- Native Americans in the 1950 Census
- 1950 Census: External Resources
As noted on 1950 Census Records, you will be able to search the 1950 Census website by name and location beginning on Day 1 — April 1, 2022. To develop the initial name index, NARA used Amazon Web Services’ artificial intelligence / optical character recognition (AI/OCR) Textract tool to extract the handwritten names from the digitized 1950 Census population schedules. Because the initial name index is built on optical character recognition (OCR) technology, it will not be 100-percent accurate. The National Archives is asking for your help in submitting name updates to the index using a transcription tool that will be available on the 1950 Census website. You can help us improve the accuracy of the name index and make the records more accessible for everyone. More information on this volunteer opportunity will be forthcoming.
Researchers can learn more about this census from the 1950 Census blog posts at the History Hub and watch for news at National Archives News.
Tintypes and Photos in Civil War Pension Files
If you’ve ever wondered why some U.S. Civil War pension files have tintypes and photos – wonder no more! NARA archives specialist Jackie Budell details the reasons in three excellent recent blog posts at The Text Message:
(1) Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Your Questions Answered
(2) Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why Private William Carman Sent a Tintype to His Wife
Exciting 1950 Census News from NARA
When the 1950 Census becomes available on a NARA website on April 1, 2022, there will be a name search function powered by an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology tool. Granted, it will be imperfect on opening day – but that just means that all of us will have the opportunity to make it better through a transcription tool that will also be available. Exciting times! Read more about it at 1950 Census Release Will Offer Enhanced Digital Access, Public Collaboration Opportunity, a December 14, 2021 press release.
An 1890 Census Fragment for Alaska is Rediscovered and Digitized
The National Archives recently digitized a previously unappreciated fragment of the 1890 census that contains information about 13 families in Alaska. This piece of the (mostly) destroyed 1890 census has essentially been “hiding in plain sight” since the National Archives published the Preliminary Inventory for Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census, in 1964. You can read more about it in “An 1890 Census Fragment for Alaska is Rediscovered.” Digital images are in the National Archives Catalog as “Logbook of Frank Lowell, Special Agent, Alaska District No. 2, 1890 Census” (National Archives Identifier 202288465).
