Seeking Susie

This just in from Ancestry.com:

We’re thrilled to announce that we just posted our first 1940 U.S. Census indexes online—two complete states, Nevada and Delaware. Search now

This is only the start. You’ll also find every 1940 U.S Census image, all 3.8 million of them, online tomorrow morning. Check Facebook and Twitter for an announcement to know exactly when. And as we continue to update our collection, you’ll find more tools to help you make discoveries, including an enumeration-district finder and a FREE downloadable guide for locating your family in the 1940 U.S. Census images.
There’s plenty more to come in the coming weeks and months as we continue to add indexes for more states. So stay tuned and spread the word: Ancestry.com is the home of the 1940 U.S. Census!

Crista Cowan
Community Alliance Manager Ancestry.com.

Oh man, how exciting!  I’m still going to index away for Familysearch.org as that is just as important.  I know what all the Nevada and Delaware peeps are going to do tonight though!  I’m so jealous!  I want my Arkansas index!!

Susie

According to word I received from Ancestry.com, they should have every page, all 3.8 million of them, online on Ancestry.com sometime tomorrow (latest ETA is by 2 p.m. Eastern Friday – maybe sooner).  At the same time, they’ll be launching a handful of tools that can help you find answers in those images.

I will be very glad when they get Arkansas up and rolling because I have been scouring the National Archives site for Arkansas census records and already, I have found my father Rufus Higginbotham,  living with his parents:

I found my mother, Mary Helen Parks, living with her parents, and her grandparents on her Grandad’s farm:

I found my great grandparents Major and Mollie Harris, on my paternal grandmother’s side, and my great Uncle James Harris, all on the same farm with my father, only in a different house:

I found my great Aunt Sis, and her family, on the same farm with my father and his grandparents, but in a different house:

As to the hours I spent searching for other relatives and haven’t found them, I hope these tools that Ancestry is talking about, come through for me because finding them on the National Archives site has been no easy task.

Here is what Ancestry says is next:

Once all images are uploaded, we’ll move the focus to creating a searchable index for all 132 million records. (FYI, this process has been underway since we picked up the images at 12:01 a.m. Monday) As soon as the first state is ready, we will let you know. In the meantime, we want to know what questions you have and what questions you are hearing from your friends and followers. Please submit them to ask@ancestry.com and put “1940 FAQ” in the subject line. Based on your questions, we will create a Frequently Asked Questions document that can be shared.

Good luck, and happy census hunting!  I’m anxious to see your tools Ancestry.com because I have some cousins to find!

Susie

Do you want to know where you mother and father, or maybe your grandparents, or all of them lived in 1940?  Would you like to know what their income was, who they lived with, and who their neighbors were?  Well, now you can.

Today, the National Archives released digital images of the 1940 census that will be made available to the public for FREE!

At this very moment, the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project, a joint initiative between Archives.com, FamilySearch, findmypast.com, and other leading genealogy societies and organizations, are  coordinating their efforts to provide quick access to these digital images and immediately start indexing these records to make them searchable online with free and open access.

Interest in the 1940 U.S. Census is both significant and sentimental because it documents what is often referred to as “The Greatest Generation” of U.S. citizens. As a group, these are individuals who:

• Survived the Great Depression
•  Fought in the Second World War
•  Innovated technology (TV, Microwave)

There are many people still alive today who will be able to find themselves in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. Others will be able to readily connect with relatives they knew personally or through family stories. Imagine the great resource this will be to anyone interested in their family history!

Please join our effort in making these records indexed quickly so we can all search for our loved ones.  You can join this project by going to www.the1940census.com.

Well, I gotta go, I’m going to get busy indexing so I can find my parents.  Yes, my parents will be on this census!  My Dad will be 6 years old and my Mom will be 4 years old.  I can’t wait to find them!

Susie