Preparing for the Release of the 1940 Federal Census

As we all know, in less than a year from now the 1940 federal census will be released to the public.  Unfortunately, the census will not be indexed when it is released, and probably not for several months afterward.  Even though the census will be released digitally (sorry guys, no public microfilm this time), we're going to have to take our research old-school.  We will have to browse the records by hand to find our ancestors.


In an effort to prepare for this long-awaited release, I have added some links on my website here: 1940 Federal Census.  These are PDF documents that can be found on the NARA website that give a lot of information about the census and what to expect from a research-significant standpoint.


Fortunately, the National Archives (NARA) has indicated that they will be splitting the census up by state, county, and enumeration district.  Unfortunately, the enumeration districts are numbered differently than in the past.  So, I have also included a link to Steve Morse's handy-dandy tool to convert the 1920 and 1930 enumeration districts to the 1940 enumeration districts, which will save a ton of time - and can all be done before the census is released!


Hopefully, others will find this useful and time-saving.  You can use the link above or, if you already have my toolbox bookmarked, I have placed the link to the page on the home page:

Don't hate on my mad mouse-drawing skillz!

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to have quite a list.  Hopefully, I'll have time to actually use these links before time runs out.  April 2, 2012 will be here before you know it!