04 April 2012

A 1940 Census Search Status Update

Whitfield / Huyler - 1940 Census     The census release got off to a rocky start on Monday, but by Tuesday everything was running smoothly. The National Archive's website was running perfectly for me while Ancestry.com and FamilySearch were steadily adding images. Today, MyHeritage became the first commercial site to have all images online.

     So, how am I doing? Here's a list of my direct line ancestors. I had EDs picked out for all of them and have conducted searches for them.

FoundRelationship    MissingRelationship
Betty HuylerGrandmother    Roy AlbeaGrandfather
Ruby Huyler WhitfieldGreat-Grandmother    Vernon & Auline AlbeaGreat-Grandparents
Sarah BrittGrandmother    Vary "Mack" HuylerGreat-Grandfather
Nathan BrittGreat-Grandfather    Nina Albea2xG Grandmother
Thomas CraftGrandfather    John & Ida Huyler2xG Grandparents
BE & Ruth CraftGreat-Grandparents    Ledora Barfield BrittGreat-Grandmother
Stephen T Boatright3xG Grandfather    Frances Boatright Barfield2xG Grandmother
William D Witt2xG Grandfather    Effie Craft2xG Grandmother
    Leila Evans2xG Grandmother
    Leverett & Louise Waters2xG Grandmother

    When I look at this list, something stands out: for the most part the left hand side are farmers and the right hand side are mill workers or widows. Mill workers moved a lot. A lot. Looking at city directories, they are almost never in the same place two years in a row. And the widows have possibly moved in with one of their children, leaving the homes they had with their husband.

     I'm going to keep looking for my missing ancestors, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find them without an index.  As far as index completion is concerned, I think I've heard that one might be completed as soon as 6 months.  I'm going to have to do my part and do some more indexing with FamilySearch. I've done two pages so far and have found it exceedingly easy. Hopefully they'll start Georgia and South Carolina soon!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I need to make a list like this with mine. Maybe I'll see a pattern like yours that will explain why I can't find them, and where they might be. Nice work!

Ruby Craft said...

I think it is fantastic you have been able to find so many relatives without an index. I know you have done a lot of prep work leading up to the release of the 1940 census. I am so happy it is running smoothly now. Hopefully I'll be able to help with some indexing.

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