This will be very helpful when the 1930 census is released this year! I advise you to save it for future reference. Jennifer Sherwood Braswell [email protected] GABIBB coordinator http://www.rootsweb.com/~gabibb/bibb.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Stowell" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2002 3:08 AM Subject: [GAGEN] 1930 census - essay : 1930 Census Research - "A Whole New Ball Game" : : Welcome to this discussion of search procedures for the 1930 Federal : Census. For the purpose of this discussion, we will assume that : everyone has experience in working with previously released census : records, both population schedules and Soundex or Miracode index : films. : : Today we will deal with the 1930 census (to be released April 1st), : and the new and mostly different (and mostly more difficult) : procedures that will be required to conduct a successful search. For : best results please maximize this window to full screen on your : computer. : : As in past years, before going to the census itself it will be : necessary to determine the correct ED (Enumeration District) number. : : It is true that in earlier census years it was occasionally possible : to have success without knowing the ED number, by conducting a : "fishing expedition" through an entire town, township, or county, but : for 1930 the chances of success with such a strategy are so remote as : to be virtually impossible. : : Determining the ED number will be a more difficult and time-consuming : process for 1930 than almost anyone might have imagined. This : statement is true for most of us, but not for a fortunate few : searching in the 10 states of the deep South (Louisiana, Arkansas, : Tennessee, Virginia, and everything south of them to the Gulf) and in : a handful of counties in Kentucky and West Virginia. : : These locations ARE Soundexed for 1930, and they can be searched in : exactly the same manner as in 1920. These Soundex films will be : released April 1st and available at all NARA (National Archives and : Records Administration) branches on that date. There is no name index : of any kind available for the remainder of the nation. : : For most of our searches, we must find the ED number in another way. : This will require that we know the exact location of our target : people. In very rural areas it may be sufficient to simply know the : right township or approximate location of our target, but in any city : or town (of any size) you will need a street address in order to : determine the ED. : : In 1930 a much higher percentage of our population was urban than ever : before, and towns were much larger than in previous years. It is true : that large parts of the nation were not indexed for 1910, and that no : place was Soundexed prior to 1880, and yet these difficulties were : usually overcome without great effort. : : This will not be the case for 1930, one can accurately say that it is : a whole new ball game. A street address must now be considered a : virtual necessity in order to find the ED. : : What if you don't have a street address? Use the time you have before : April 1st to go find it! Family sources are often best for this, talk : to the older generations in your family, read old obits and : announcements, examine old letters and envelopes, voter registration, : & ship manifests. : : Check Social Security applications (if they did not move during the : 30's), previous census records (more on this later), telephone and : other directories, birth, death, & marriage records, court cases, : scrapbooks, school, church and employment records, naturalizations, et : cetera. Among the best and easiest to use sources are old city : directories. : : City Directories can be found in many libraries around the country. : NARA has purchased an extensive set of city directories for the years : close to 1930. These city directories, which are not government : records, are available at all the NARA branches. : : A complete list of the cities and years for which city directories are : available at NARA can be found at the NARA website at : http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/citydirs.html Be sure to check the : alphabetical listings for your target people in several years (e.g. : 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931) if available. Record all street addresses : found. : : I HAVE THE STREET ADDRESS, NOW WHAT? You need to determine the : correct ED, using one of several available methods. The best of these : methods, available for over 50 cities and some counties, is microfilm : series M1931 (7 rolls). This is a cross index to city streets and ED's : for the 1930 census. : : See the following NARA webpage: : http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/1930census_city_streets.html With : M1931 you can quickly and accurately determine the ED your street : address is in. Only about 30 of the 100 largest cities in 1930 are : found cross indexed in M1931. : : A group of census experts (and NARA volunteers) from California has : extended the indexing effort to all the top 100 cities. This effort, : known as ITWIT (no, not nitwit ), has created an outstanding and : extremely useful website at http://home.pacbell.net/spmorse/census/ : : I urge all of you to visit this site, and be sure to click on the : frequently asked questions button. This site has been operational for : less than ten days, but is already considered indispensable for 1930 : census work. This site is available online (not at NARA except those : NARA branches that offer internet access) and will help you to quickly : and accurately determine the ED by inputting the street address. : : A few notes about using ITWIT. The directional designator must be : properly used for the right result. For example, my grandfather in : 1930 lived in Seattle on Alder Street. In Seattle then and now : locations are usually given by the street name, omitting the E, W, : etc. The official address of his house was on E. Alder, half a block : from where it is simply Alder St. : : Inputting Alder St. (the common usage) into ITWIT yields several ED's, : none of which was his correct one. Only when E. Alder St. was input : did the correct ED come up. : : Another thing to bear in mind with ITWIT is that it is brand new, : essentially a very good rough draft, and minor errors will show up. : For example, my grandfather's old house in Los Angeles now in 1930 : belonged to his brother. It was on W. 93rd St. between Broadway and : Figueroa. : : M1931, T1224, and M1930 (see below for the latter two) all clearly : show that this street was a boundary between two ED's, meaning that : houses on different sides of the street were in different ED's. ITWIT : however only shows one ED for this street, so if that house were : across the street its correct ED would not show up. These minor errors : are being corrected constantly as soon as they are found. : : If your location is not covered by either M1931 or ITWIT, we have : several more finding aids available. Even if you think you have the : right ED using either of the above methods, it is a good idea to use : these next methods to double check. : : The next best method available is microfilm series T1224 (30 rolls for : 1930), Geographic Descriptions of census ED's. This aid gives a : complete description, sometimes block by block in cities, of every one : of the over 120,000 ED's used in 1930 for the whole nation. It can be : extremely helpful in rural areas or small towns, but in large cities : the previously mentioned methods are usually the best first choice. : : Many people had very high hopes when it was announced that the : complete series of ED maps for 1930 for the whole nation would be : filmed and available through NARA. This film series is M1930 (36 : rolls), containing over 8300 maps. : : Unfortunately, the quality of the maps vary, and in most cases this : series is of less use than the aids previously mentioned, although : useful as a cross check. NARA branches also have available larger and : easier to read hard copies of many of these maps, but it can still be : nearly impossible in large cities to determine the ED using this : method. : : If you have located your target in the 1920 census, and are certain : that they have not moved for 1930, you can use the 1920 ED and the : street address to find the 1930 ED in T1224. T1224 cross references : the 1930 ED numbers to those used for the same location in 1920. : : Care must be taken in this however, since most 1920 ED's comprise from : 2 to as many as 8 different ED's in 1930. Combining this with use of : the street address while searching T1224 will give the best results. : : The final step is to search the census itself. You go to the correct : state, county, and ED. For rural areas you will have to perform a line : by line search of the entire ED, but for towns and cities you will : probably be able to search the left hand margin of the census sheets : looking for the street name and ultimately the house number, then : checking for the desired name. : : To sum up, here are the seven different finding aids I have listed : above: : : Soundex name indexing films (deep South only) City Directories films : (for finding street address) M1931 films (use street address to find : ED) ITWIT (use street address to find ED) (not available at NARA, only : online) T1224 films (use street address or 1920 ED to find 1930 ED) : M1930 films (use street address to find ED) Hard copies of ED maps : (use street address to find ED) : : Of all the aids I have mentioned, everything but the Soundex and the : census itself is available for use right now. These finding aids are : not in heavy use at present, but are expected to be in high demand : after April 1st. Use of the online ITWIT site can also be expected to : soar after April. : : NARA expects that usage of its research rooms will skyrocket in April, : and usage of microfilm reading machines will be strictly limited to : two hours when we are in a waiting list situation. We anticipate that : this will be the case at essentially all times from April 1st until : about August 1st. Some NARA branches handle the rush differently, : often by a reservation system. Check with the branch you are : interested in visiting. : : The average successful 1920 census search takes about 20 minutes. We : believe that the average successful 1930 search will take about 3-4 : hours. This is roughly ten times as long, and many of our patrons will : find this frustrating. To make matters worse, the 2 hour limit when : others are waiting for a machine will mean that most people will have : to be interrupted before completing a successful search. : : Since most of the necessary resources are available right now when : they are under utilized, and since the facilities will be so overtaxed : very soon, it makes sense to do as much of the work now as possible. I : urge everyone to get to work on their 1930 searches as soon as they : can. : : WHAT SHOULD I BRING WITH ME WHEN I COME TO NARA? As with most : research, the more information you bring with you, the more you can : learn and the more successful your research. Try whenever possible to : bring the following information and items with you when you come to : NARA to do 1930 census research: : : Complete names and ages of everyone you expect to find in the family. : Street address for 1930. City or town if street address is unknown. : Census information for the family in 1920, including street address : and ED number. Bring change for the copy machines and donation jar. : : In addition, I strongly recommend that you print out and bring two : maps for each street address or location you are searching. I use one : close up map showing the exact address and covering only a few city : blocks, and a second map zoomed out to show major streets and : arterials for a couple miles in each direction. These are available at : several locations online, as well as several street mapping programs : on CD-ROM. : : The best webpage for general information on the 1930 census and the : search processes available for it is NARA's 1930 webpage at : http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/1930cen.html : : : This essay is Copyright 2002 by Kevin Fraley. Revocable permission is : granted for reuse or republication in whole or in part for : instructional purposes by any official webpage or publication of the : USGenWeb Project or the USGenWeb Census Project provided there is no : exchange of monetary consideration or commercial use; and further : provided that this entire notice shall accompany any such reuse or : republication. : : : ==== GAGEN Mailing List ==== : Do you have a suggestion to include in our taglines? If so, please write : [email protected] : :