Dear Florida Researchers: I would like to point out some potential problems you might incur when using the 1930 Soundex of the 12 southern states. Each county of each state is given a number in alphabetical order. For example Alachua County is #1 and Washington County is #67. This number is used in the microfilm guide and is on every microfilm page of each county. The number is printed as Enumerators District #29-51. This actually means County #29 (Hillsborough) and Enumeration Number (ED) 51. In addition, the ED number is not strictly numeric. You will need the 1930 microfilm guide (available from the National Archives) to determine the order of the ED #. This mostly affects the larger counties like Broward, Dade, etc. For example, this is the ED order of Broward County: 1-3, 16, 4-15, 17, 18 NP (No population), 19-33. Note: ED 16 comes after ED 3. Confused? Well, to add to your confusion, what is stated, as a Sheet No on the Soundex card is really the visitation number on the census. It is the 5th column: Column 1 Line # Column 2 Street, avenue, road Column 3 House Number Column 4 Dwelling Number Column 5 Visitation Number Once you know these facts, it will become clear on how to use the Soundex. I have checked only Florida. It appears by looking at the 1930 guide, that all the soundexed states have been done the same way. I hope this will help you in locating your ancestor on the 1930 Florida census. Pam Cooper Pamela J. Cooper, Supervisor Indian River County Main Library Florida History & Genealogy Department 1600 21st Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960 772-770-5060, Fax 772-770-5066 Email: [email protected]