Do you have the opening of the 1940 Census on April 2, 2012 marked on your calendar? We do here at the National Archives.
For past Census releases we provided access to the Census on microfilm. For the 1940 Census we will be providing free online access. You’ll be able to search on the internet using the public computers in our research rooms or your own computer. Our Digitization Lab has completed the digitization of the 1940 Census, creating over 3.8 million digital images of Census schedules, maps, and enumeration district descriptions. In addition we have indexed the Census schedules to the enumeration district level.
While our preparations are underway, how can you prepare for the opening of the 1940 Census?
The 1940 Census does not have a name index so in order to locate someone you will need to know the enumeration district (ED) in which they lived. If you know where someone resided in 1940, you can search the 1940 Census ED maps for an address and then locate the ED number for that address.
We have uploaded the 1940 Census maps to our Archival Research Catalog (ARC) and plan to add them to our new Online Public Access system later this year.
To search the maps go to ARC at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/
In the search box enter 1940 Census maps and the name of the county: 1940 Census maps Sussex County
Hit the search button. Hint: If you have a common county name, you may also want to include the name of the state or town in the search terms to narrow your results: 1940 Census maps Sussex County Delaware.
Click on the map you wish to see. Find the address of the person for whom you are searching on the map and then locate the enumeration district number for the address. The ED number will include two parts: the county number and actual enumeration district number. Most maps include other numbers so you will need to carefully search for the ED number (shown below in the red box).
Once you have the enumeration district numbers, save those numbers for next April when the 1940 Census goes online!
- 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps – Delaware – Sussex County – ED 3-1 – ED 3-57 (ARC Identifier 5829592)
Another way to search for 1940 EDs from addresses or locations is to use our free tools at stevemorse.org. To see a tutorial on what we have, go to: http://stevemorse.org/census/quiz.php
Joel Weintraub
Dana Point, CA
Names not indexed./;-<
Thanks! The maps are wonderful. This is exciting!
I just tried putting in the search box ” 1940 census maps galveston county texas” and I don’t get any map from the 1940 census. I tried entering with ” around 1940 census maps and around galveston county texas….no dice
Hi Rebecca,
I tried a few searches in ARC for 1940 Census Maps, and I came up with some hits for Galveston County, Texas. Please try these search results.
I hope these are helpful! Best of luck with your research.
Meredith
I followed your instructions as given above and can not find any maps. I find heading about the maps but that is all. What am I doing wrong? What are people to do if they don’t know the address for a person? Can a person just look online through the reel like one did years ago to find a person’s name or what?
I’m posting the New England Census maps on my web site in a more convenient format. The most useful thing we’re doing is re-assembling the larger maps into single images. The Archives microfilmed the large maps in several pieces, sometimes 9 per map, and these can be difficult to us.
So far we’ve done Vermont (easy!), and most of Massachusetts. The site is http://www.old-maps.com.
Is anyone else doing this? I would like to hear critiques of the way we are doing this as we chug along to April 2.
dave
Ok, I have found a map, with the correct place on it. I am unable to print the digital copy of the map, the first of 4 maps, ED IL 49-25 through ED IL 49-34 – 1 on one sheet of paper, or to save it.
I am now searching in Chicago, which if I am interpreting it right has over 3200 maps. Is there a way to search by street? adding street name after Chicago doesn’t seem to work.
Is there a system for how the maps are numbered, so one can get to the right part of the city?