1950s Census Records Available

[secretagent]

I'm really excited to look into this. My mom's family was very large but for lots of reasons she lost contact with most by the time I was a kid, so it'll be interesting. Her parents were overseas in 1950 (military) so not sure if I'll be able to find them specifically. My dad's family wasn't here yet, so I have to wait another 10 years to look for them. I'm also really looking forward to seeing details about my neighborhood (my house wasn't built until the mid 50s but the rest of my block was - for some reason, our lot was empty 30 years longer than the rest).

[gardengal]

Apr 4, 2022 7:02:19 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

I found my parents- but i have a question- how long did it take to record the census? my dad is listed as being 1- he was born in 48 so that would check out, however my mom is listed as being 2 and she was born in 52.

Is it possible they had a daughter with your mother's name that died very young & then your gma named her next daughter the same thing?

This has happened multiple times in my family, especially if family names were used & it was a very young child that died.

[secretagent]

Apr 4, 2022 7:02:19 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

I found my parents- but i have a question- how long did it take to record the census? my dad is listed as being 1- he was born in 48 so that would check out, however my mom is listed as being 2 and she was born in 52.

I figured out with the 1940 census that my maternal grandfather lied about his age to enlist (and I guess kept that up for the rest of his life). I think this sort of oddity was maybe more common back then? 

Or...could she be named after an older sibling who passed? My grandmother was named after her sister who passed from influenza just before she was born. 

[basilosaurus]

Apr 4, 2022 7:43:58 GMT -5 af1212 said:

I’m struggling to find one grandmother and grandfather - or anyone from that grandmothers family.

I have tried county and city, last name and first name.

Any tips for me?

I cannot find one grandfather, and I have scanned images where he's listed in 1940 and 1920 from the same county where he, his parents, and most of his family lived their entire lives (I have his parents on 1900 and 1910 as well) so I know the county/city is correct. I don't understand. So, I'll take any tips, too.

His parents were still alive, but his father had the same name, so I can't see if he was living with them when the only hit for that name is my uncle.

ETA Found it! This is kinda weird. I looked for his mom, he's listed below her, so last name wasn't included for him. Oddly the relationships are mother in law and brother in law. It's definitely mother/son. Workplaces and ages align. Both of them are listed as separated which I knew he was but didn't know about her. So maybe his father was in a boarding house? I know both his parents were raging alcoholics. Puzzle pieces fit.

My great grandmother made it through high school although didn't finish senior year. Pretty impressive for that era.

[buffalogal]

i called my mom- sent her a screenshot- all the right names- wrong family- lol

i searched under Buffalo, Erie for my mother's maiden name and didn't find anything, then searched for my grandmother's maiden name which is where i found the wrong family. changed the search to just Erie and found my grandparents (and no mom) which would be correct for 1950.

so no skeletons or mysteries here, just weird to see the same names in the correct order though!

[notreal]

Apr 4, 2022 9:58:15 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

i called my mom- sent her a screenshot- all the right names- wrong family- lol

i searched under Buffalo, Erie for my mother's maiden name and didn't find anything, then searched for my grandmother's maiden name which is where i found the wrong family. changed the search to just Erie and found my grandparents (and no mom) which would be correct for 1950.

so no skeletons or mysteries here, just weird to see the same names in the correct order though!

That's kind of disappointing for you.  Would have made her next birthday party interesting.

[Bad Dingo]

I found out that my grandmother worked at a thermometer factory during WWII, her job title is listed as "Thermometer watcher flame holder". I'm intrigued.

[secretagent]

WOW. I just did my first search and it works so much better than I recall the 1940 one did 10 years ago. I tried my maternal grandfather's (very unusual) name and got several hits. I am nearly positive the first one is his brother based on geography. This is so cool.

[buffalogal]

Apr 4, 2022 10:12:30 GMT -5 notreal said:

Apr 4, 2022 9:58:15 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

i called my mom- sent her a screenshot- all the right names- wrong family- lol

i searched under Buffalo, Erie for my mother's maiden name and didn't find anything, then searched for my grandmother's maiden name which is where i found the wrong family. changed the search to just Erie and found my grandparents (and no mom) which would be correct for 1950.

so no skeletons or mysteries here, just weird to see the same names in the correct order though!

That's kind of disappointing for you.  Would have made her next birthday party interesting.

Since she'll be 70 this year, my brother is currently trying to get some acquaintance of a cousin to get this special tiramisu cake made for her milestone birthday- he's getting the runaround from her and he called me all frustrated about it the other day- would have been fun to tell him never mind she's 72! lol

[secretagent]

Does anyone know how to find people in the military overseas on the 1950 census? Google is failing me.

EDITED: depending on station, it wasn't retained. bummer.

[charlatti]

Apr 3, 2022 22:00:46 GMT -5 babsbunny said:

Anyone else having trouble with Columbus OH? It looks like they used a different form. I can't find a married couple with kids or an OSU college student.

Yes — something weird there. We haven’t been able to search anyone by name in Franklin county. We even tried using a names that were totally clear when we browsed through the enumeration district and the search will not pull those records up. 

[BlondeSpiders]

That was an exercise in frustration! Can anyone explain how to use enumeration districts? I could only narrow it down to counties, but LA county was huge even then.

I could not find a single person.

[georgeharrison]

I found my mom. She was born in January of '50, so for her age, it has her birthday. Very cool. I couldn't find anyone else, though.

[pixy0stix]

I can't find any of my people. Which... may not be surprising if the hurdles existed then like they do now when it comes to large disparity between those of middle/upper class being counted in these things and the below (way below) poverty line people not being counted (on my maternal side).

[rootbeerfloat]

I found my dad easily. My mom was adopted, and I can't find her. I found her adopted family, who didn't have her yet, and her bio mom. I tried searching with her bio mom's last name, but no dice.

[secretagent]

If you find misspellings, you can submit transcription corrections!

[mbcdefg]

I found some of the Rockefellers in New York.

[pixy0stix]

I take it back, I found all my people.

[formerlyak]

Apr 4, 2022 13:05:15 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

That was an exercise in frustration! Can anyone explain how to use enumeration districts? I could only narrow it down to counties, but LA county was huge even then.

I could not find a single person.

I’m having trouble with LA County as well. I’ve found everyone in my family in Newark and Seattle (so not small places), but can’t find my DH’s family in LA.

[Deleted]

I found my Great-Grandmother and it looks like she lived with her eldest daughter at the time. Immediately below them was my Paternal Grandfather, but cannot find my Paternal Grandmother anywhere. I don't think that they were married yet in 1950, and the fact that he is listed right underneath my Great-Grandmother/Aunt, I'm wondering if he was a neighbor and that is how he and my Grandmother met.

[Bad Dingo]

That is really cool, @sameoldstory!

[kath16]

this is making me feel very dumb.

how do i click on the pictures to actually be able to SEE anything? i'm looking at what might me a comically misspelled grandparent's name and i cannot for the life of me read it to confirm that it's him. my parents were not alive in 1950.

i'm ready for my senior citizen discounts any time... and get off my lawn with your newfangled technology!


ETA: ok i think i figured out how to zoom in. my grandfather had a wild life so i'm still not 100% sure it's him but.. maybe! it's not a common name.

[tacokick]

They lumped Baltimore County and Baltimore City together which is annoying and strange.

I can’t find people who I have the address for in 1950. Maybe it’s the weird AI not reading anywhere near the correct letters?

[pierogigirl]

I can find my father's aunts and uncles, but not his parents or him (very rare last name and they all lived in two tiny adjacent towns).

One uncle "Frank" was spelled "Trank" in the look-up feature. Maybe they should have printed instead of writing in cursive.

[rubytue]

I found one uncle. Who was developmentally disable and never left home (until he was in his 50s). He was 19. But it’s so weird the rest of the family is on the same page. So confusing. He should have been in a block with my grandparents and everyone else.

Striking out on all other relatives and in-laws, with much less someone names.