National Archives releases 1930 census figures April 1, 2002 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Archives on Monday lifted confidentiality restrictions on personal records from the 1930 census, yielding a treasure chest of genealogical information for historians and family researchers. Dozens of people took advantage of the opportunity, lining up at the archives' headquarters for a chance to see copies of handwritten 1930 census forms and read the gave. "It's a real high. You get into this and you just get hooked," June Hall, of Baltimore, said Monday as she scrolled through microfilm copies of census forms. After a half-hour of research, she found the record for the house she was born in -- her grandmother's home along what was then a dirt road in Potomac, Maryland. The release came as a 72-year-old prohibition on public release of the 1930 census records expired, allowing people to view information that went beyond the dry statistics typically available after the once-a-decade head count. Historians billed it as the largest release of genealogical data by the federal government. Some questions looked familiar: What is your name? What is your sex? Are you single or married? Others are a sign of the times, such as the question that asked, "Does this household have a radio set?" "It is probably the single most important record release at the federal level in the first decade of the 21st century," said Curt Witcher, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, president of the National Genealogical Society. The 1930 census date of April 1 came just over five months after the October 1929 stock market crash that plunged the country into depression. One question asked whether someone had worked the previous day; another asks to give what "class of worker" you are. "It is at this pivotal point of history, poised between two tumultuous but very different decades, that enumerators of the 1930 census captured a statistical snapshot of our nation," said John Carlin, archivist of the United States. No forms were mailed. All homes were visited by a census taker, who read off a series of 32 questions and recorded responses by hand. Original 1930 forms were destroyed in the 1940s, but not before copies were saved on 2,667 rolls of microfilm. That microfilm is being made available to the public for research at the National Archives' headquarters in Washington, as well as 13 other archives offices around the country. Historians recommend that novice researchers gather as much background as possible on their relatives before visiting the archives. Name indices are incomplete for many states, so family members may have to be researched through addresses. -- oooO Oooo || || +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ { Current publications available at: } http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewListedItems&userid=rosess { http://stores.half.com/rosesss } { Rose Terry @>,--'--- _ RMTerry@prodigy.net } +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~( )~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ ( @ @ ) || \ / || ||| || 0ooo Give your children these two things - One is roots, the other, wings.