1930 Census – WWII Collection?
Mar 31st, 2009 by sharbrough
Odds and Ends
Most titles at Footnote have a description, written by user Footnote_Catalog. Some of those are written by staff with expert knowledge of the records and events. Others are farmed out to contractors with special knowledge. These descriptions are generally authoritative and helpful.
Some time ago, Footnote revised the format of the “member pages” to become “Footnote Pages.” That resulted in the addition of timelines, maps, and “fact boxes” that constitute a pretty significant “jump” on the page. Before we called them “member pages” we called them “topic pages.” I only mention that because today, the heading says “Topic Page – Beta.” They are still referred to as “Footnote Pages” in search results, so I’m not sure which name is coming, and which name is going.
Still, I was not able to find much on the Footnote Page for the 1930 Census. The tag line says, “Locate information about your family, and perhaps even yourself, if you were born after April 1, 1930.” I’m not sure that you can find yourself on there if you were born after the enumeration date. I’m pretty sure that they mean just the opposite, that you can find yourself if you were born BEFORE April 1, 1930.
And below that? Um, nothing. The page has been viewed 141 times in the 4 days since it was created. I’m sure that a more substantial description is forthcoming, but the rollout doesn’t include much background. That’s not a fatal flaw. Most titles on Footnote require a lot of explanation because users haven’t heard of those particular records before. The 1930 census is well known, and is described in detail in many places on the web.
Footnote’s 1930 Census is about 80% finished, containing about 104 million of the 124 million names enumerated. I can’t tell easily which states are complete, and which are partial, so you’ll have to accept the odds as your best guide. The odds are 80% that your guy is there. The timing of the launch is curious. I’m wracking my brain to identify an anniversary that this publication serves. I can only assume that it’s based on the current economy.
One of my favorite things about modern censuses in towns and cities is finding the exact address where people lived. The place where Grandad Sharbrough lived in Tyler can be found on Google, and they have a street view. It’s not clear to me which side of the street my guys were on, but having a curb view of the humble houses on that block is striking. It’s so easy to imagine the 1930’s when you can visualize the residence. Without the 1930 census, I’d never have known where to look.
This is a big addition for Footnote. Coupled with the SSDI, newspapers, and its collection of historical records, almost anyone can find something there about their family, or about any event in US history. Their business practice of making the search results free, and exposing them to Google, should result in a large number of people typing names into Google searches, and landing on Footnote / Topic pages. From there, the possibilities widen rapidly.
Thanks for reading.
