2 weeks/3 weeks: A Genealogist’s and Fan’s Delight

I am looking forward to April. April 2 and April 9 to be exact. Two and three weeks from today.

April 2d
This is the day the 1940 U.S. decennial census is open for research. Not only does it open on Monday, April 2d, but it will be online and free. I mentioned this earlier but now that it’s just two weeks away I am getting more excited. Was my maternal grandfather in the U.S. or was he in another country? Was his brother in jail? Was my father-in-law in New Mexico, Montana, Minnesota, or where? For more info on the census and the website to view it, check the National Archives website. I signed up to be a volunteer indexer and I hope that all my readers will join me in this. How quickly can we accomplish this task and how accurately? Sign up here. This project is sponsored by FamilySearch, brightsolid, and Archives.com.

Click here for a detailed listing of the questions asked on this census and for special explanatory notes. I am looking forward to seeing how many children each of my grandmothers had given birth to but it won’t include
any stillbirths. I want to see the notes that tell where my relatives were living in 1935. Another neat detail is that I will be able to see their 1939 income and compare it to others in the area.

I am checking city directories, vital records, my own files, and other material to determine the 1939-1941 addresses for my family. The 1941 city directory information was likely collected in 1940 and that might be where they lived when the census was taken in 1940. I have some family members who did not own property and moved a lot. Next I will be determining in which Enumeration District they likely resided. Steve Morse’s website will be a great help in that.

April 9th
Once I calm down from viewing various parts of the 1940 census, this will be my next important date! This is the 2012 home opener for the Minnesota Twins and I will be in the stands. The L.A. Angels will be in town. Baseball means spring is truly here. Just hope I don’t have to wear a winter jacket! Once in a while I need to drag myself away from the computer other than time spent with my kids and grandkids.

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