This is the LOCKSS principle in action: Lots of copies keep stuff safe.
Not only do I have backups in the cloud and on two external drives, I also send selected items to relatives.
Plus I have family trees and ancestor bios on multiple genealogy sites.
These are a few of the ways I preserve family history for today and for tomorrow.
Although not everything is online, I really appreciate being able to access digitized photos, letters, postcards, and documents when researching my family tree.
In fact, some museums, libraries, historical societies, and other institutions welcome the digital donation of old photos and printed items. This is a great way to share family history without physically letting go of the actual items.
Above, a screen grab from the online Case Western Reserve Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. The photo is one of several digitally donated by my husband's family, along with names, dates, and places.
These digital images now accompany the online history of the Cleveland Heights Youth Theater. Pictured here is a rehearsal of a 1950s children's TV show that was broadcast from downtown Cleveland.
By donating these digital images, the family is helping others learn more about the youth theater and the key role it played in the lives of participants.
Do you have photos, documents, postcards, printed genealogies, or other items from the past that might be of interest to an institution if digitally donated? Think of this as another way to share your family's history!
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For more about preserving family history for the future, please see my concise guide, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.
As I reorganize Ed's collection in preparation for storing in archival albums, I'm scanning some of the negatives he never printed.
Turn negatives into photos
There are a number of apps that will do this (see Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal's Heart of the Family post here).
Or do scan the negative, then invert the image using photo software (as I showed in my blog post here).
Once the negative is displayed electronically as a positive, it's much easier to enlarge and figure out who or what was photographed. Otherwise, the family history might remain trapped on the negative--which may deteriorate before too long.
Enlarge and look for clues
The photo at top, from a negative I scanned and inverted, was taken about 1919 by Ed Wood. It was sandwiched between photos of his brothers, which were dated that year (this particular negative had no date).
Enlarged on the screen, a clue stood out. Reflected in the mirror is the headboard of a bed. My husband and I recognized its distinctive shape instantly, because one almost exactly like it was part of the Wood family's household for decades. Perhaps Ed's father, a busy carpenter and builder, made the headboards for the family?
With this clue in mind, I strongly believe we're looking at the bedroom of my husband's grandparents--the parents of the teenaged photographer who snapped the photo circa 1919.
My hubby noticed that there's no doorknob on the door, only an old-fashioned latch that lifts, with a bolt for locking. I'm charmed by the wallpaper and the fabric covering the shelf, plus the graceful chair--a glimpse of how these ancestors lived.
By turning negatives into viewable photos and enlarging the images, it's easier to notice and share clues like these--tiny insights into the family's past.
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For more ideas about preserving the family's past for the sake of future generations, please see my recently updated book (available in print or as an ebook), Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.
Here are two possibilities updated for the 1950 Census in particular.
Citation example following suggestion of Elizabeth Shown Mills
Genealogy expert Elizabeth Shown Mills has citation suggestions on the Facebook page for her best-selling book, Evidence Explained, and on her own Facebook page, both original posts dated April 1.
Following her recommendation, here's to cite the three-person family of Louis Woolf, which begins on line 5 and ends on line 7 of the Census excerpt shown above.
1950 U.S. Census, Westchester County, NY, New Rochelle, ED 67-43, sheet 9, household 105, lines 7-9 (Louis Woolf family); U.S. National Archives, 1950 Census (https://1950Census.archives.gov/search).
Note that the street address isn't needed, nor are the names of other people in the family, because all of that is covered by the household number and line numbers.
Citation example following suggestion of Claire Kluskens
Claire Kluskens, Genealogical Projects Archivist for the U.S. National Archives, suggests a slightly different format for citing this Census as a genealogical source. You can see her suggestion on the History Hub here.
Following her recommendation, here's how to cite the same three-person family of Louis Woolf.
Louis Woolf family, Lines 7-9, Sheet 9, Enumeration District 67-43, New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, downloaded from https://1950census.archives.gov/ on April 23, 2022.
Citation example following Ancestry's format
IMHO: Short, sweet, and practical
My personal plan is to adapt the formal citation formats. Short, sweet, and to the point will work best for my personal purposes.
As long as I provide specifics, I believe others will be able to retrace my steps and see what I saw about an ancestor in the 1950 Census, at any time in the future.
Here's my concise but detailed version of the citation, neither formal nor official by any means.
1950 U.S. Census, New Rochelle, Westchester County, NY, ED 67-43, sheet 9, household 105, lines 7-9 (Louis Woolf family).
This is my preference, for personal use, and it may not work for everyone.
IMHO, the key elements of documenting a source are shown in my abbreviated version, for my personal use: I cited the 1950 US Census, providing the town, county, state, ED, sheet number, household number, and line numbers, plus head of household and family name.
"Document" is this week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.
At left, my search on the US National Archives site for someone living on East 141st Street in Cleveland, which is ED 92-945.
Searching quickly only for Cuyahoga County, Ohio, ED 92-945, I was surprised to see "No Records Found" as shown here on the results page.
Simply choosing the state/county and entering a specific ED is not enough to find ancestors living in big cities!
Look for big city in NARA drop-down menu
NARA's drop-down menu for county does have a city/state choice of Cleveland, Cuyahoga. I didn't choose that option initially, but I quickly figured out how to improve my search.
Once I redid my search, and chose the city along with the county and the ED, the correct population schedules showed up in the results.
I checked with several experienced researchers and they confirm that if the city is one of the choices on the drop-down menu for county, be sure to select the city.
So when the Genealogical Publishing Company kindly sent me a review copy of the two volumes that make up David Dobson's latest work, I was delighted to take a look.
Disclaimer: Although I received this publication for free, please note that the opinions in this post are entirely my own.
Consolidated index is handy
Scots-Irish Links, Consolidated Edition, consists of two volumes, each more than 900 pages, reprints of carefully-researched works that were previously published. If you have an intense interest in Scots-Irish genealogy, and need to consult surname-based research going back hundreds of years, these pricey volumes might be worth the investment.
What makes them particularly useful is that each volume contains a consolidated index. Instead of having to look up names in more than a dozen briefer books researched by Dobson in earlier years, today the reader can flip through a single index at the end of each volume.
These clear, concise entries told me not just surname and given name but also the location and the year, along with an abbreviated reference I could follow back to the source.
More about sources
Dobson provides a listing of "references" indicating the meaning of the abbreviated citations in each volume (see sample here).
As a researcher based in New England, I'm not familiar with most of these sources. It's been a good learning experience to follow up--especially considering that I hope to discover other Scots-Irish ancestors from my husband's family tree in some of these sources!
Scots-Irish Links by David Dobson is available as a two-volume set or individually priced. See the Genealogical Publishing website for more information about contents and pricing.
The negatives: Some folks remain stubbornly elusive.
No 1950ish address
The top reason I haven't found a particular ancestor is because I have no 1950ish address. Even if I have a 1940s address, some of these people moved frequently. Remember, it was a time of great mobility in America and there was also an acute housing shortage in many regions.
Where's wounded WWI vet Frank Maurice Jacobs (1896-1974), my 1c2r? I'd hoped he was still living in the residential Hotel Tudor in New York City, which was his 1942 address while working in the advertising industry. Nope, he didn't show up when I browsed the many dozens of pages for that Enumeration District. With no 1950 address, he could be anywhere in Manhattan (or possibly an outer borough, although I doubt it). When full indexing is complete for New York, I'll do a deep search for him by given name, middle initial, and birthplace, with possibly other search twists.
No longer living on own
Another reason I haven't found an older ancestor is because he or she moved into a retirement home or was living with an adult child whose address I don't yet know.
This might very well be the case with hubby's great aunt Nellie (Rachel Ellen) Wood Kirby (1864-1954), who has been elusive, as I wrote a few days ago. In the 1940 Census, Nellie was in a Chicago apartment. When she died in 1954, she was in a nursing home. I've browsed the Census for both Enumeration Districts and she turned up in neither place. She's on the back burner until full indexing for Illinois is ready and I can search by name and birthplace and/or other search parameters.
Wood, Smith: common names
Let's face it: Wood, my husband's surname, isn't exactly unique. His uncle John A. Wood (1908-1980) is a tough case, since I don't yet have a clue which state, let alone which county, he might have been in. I know his 1951 address when he got married--but he wasn't there in 1950 when I looked! He's on the back burner until full indexing for Indiana and nearby states has been completed. Then I can search for him with his middle initial and birthplace and/or other search parameters.
Similarly, my great aunt Sarah Mahler married a man named Sam Smith and they moved to California during the 1940s. Sam never used a middle initial. When full indexing is ready, I'll search for a household with Sam, Sarah, and one of their children, or use some other creative strategy--they can run but they can't hide.
Searching by name, initial, birthplace, and/or other fields (like age) might turn my negatives into more positive results!
PS: Try searching state, county, surname on NARA IF not a big city
Before the Census is fully indexed for all states by those big genealogy sites, try searching state, county, and surname on the US National Archives 1950 Census page. That's only if your target ancestor was NOT in a big city.
I wanted to find my hubby's grandfather Brice L. McClure, who wasn't where the family remembered him living in 1950. After a variety of searches that went nowhere, I tried looking where he and his late wife had lived when she died in 1948--in a town in Wyandot county, Ohio.
Success! He was living in that very same house, about to sell it and move out of the county. But not yet. So even before the big genealogy sites finish indexing bit states, try the NARA site because its indexing is fair enough to find someone, even with creative spelling.
"Negatives" - Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors theme for week 16.
Here she is, all dolled up for Easter, in a 1913 photo that I've colorized using My Heritage's photo enhancement tools. What an adorable face (made clearer by My Heritage)!
Shown at left is the postcard from his aunt, "Nellie" Wood Kirby (1864-1954) and her husband, Arthur Kirby (1860-1939).
Nellie was an older sister of Wallis's father, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939).
Nellie was living in a nursing home when she died, and I haven't found her there in the 1950 Census, nor at the address where she lived in 1945, according to the city directory. I'll keep looking!
By 1920, Ada and her husband, James Sills Baker (1866-1937) were living in Cleveland and most likely visited with Wallis and his family quite often.
Ada was the older sister of Wallis's mother, Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925).
Now 108 years later, these postcards live on in the Wood family's collection!
Mounted on a boulder and visible from a winding state road, the memorial says:
Erected in honor of those from Oxford who served their country
in the World War, 1917-1919
Albert E. Arnold
Maurice C. Barry
Carl Benson
Frank W. Carlson
Ole S. Christensen
Albert G. Dahinden
Ralph E. Davis
Thomas F. Derry
Alfred S. Donahue
Henry D. Field
Albert H. Graf
Albert G. Hansen
William R. Houlihan
Reid P. Hubbell
Frederick Knapp
Maurice Levy
Samuel Levy
Arthur Lundin
Frank D. Marshall
*Thomas Marshall
Clarence McConnie
Walter J. Mitchell
Albert J. Mitchell
*Homer Olmsted
Edgar C. Palmer
Frederick W. Pfeiffer
Clarence F. Roberts
Herbert Roberts
Ben Salvesen
Chauncey B. Sanford
Clifford H. Smith
Herman Sonnenstuhl
August J. Tilquist
Frank Trevelin
John H. Townsend
James F. Townsend
Edward N. Williams
* = Lost their lives in World War I
I've been most successful in locating ancestors when I try my search by inputting the state, county, Enumeration District, and surname of head of household.
Searching for Carrie
Above, results of my search for hubby's great aunt in ED 88-26 of Wyandot County, Ohio. Her name was Carrie E. Traxler. My search was for Traxler Carrie because the automated systems transcribed what they "read" on each line, and head of household was listed Surname Given.
NARA's system can match on creative spelling, and the first result was the ancestor I wanted--even though the transcription wasn't perfect. Her name was NOT Traller Carriee, as the system read the enumerator's handwriting. But it's close!
Adding a transcription
NARA welcomes the public's assistance in adding correct transcriptions. It will accept both transcriptions that correct what the automated system says AND transcriptions that correct what the enumerator wrote. Note that this will not alter the actual Census in any way. It will improve the search system so others can find ancestors on the NARA 1950 Census site.
After I made a note of the line number where my husband's great aunt appears, here's how I added a transcription to correct her name as transcribed by the automated system.
First, I clicked the button to "Help Us Transcribe Names" and entered my email. NARA sent me a six-digit verification code, which I entered so I could begin my transcription.
Next, I used the NARA drop-down menu to indicate line number...which took me to a blank of the screen shown above. I typed "Traxler" for last name, "Carrie" for first name, and "E" for middle name--all of which are shown in cursive handwriting on the Census form, but not accurately read by the automated system.
Other family members with same surname in same HH?
If Carrie Traxler's household included a husband or child or anyone with same surname directly below her name, I would click to add their surname.
This is a key step for families that share a surname and were enumerated in the same household. I didn't do it for Carrie, but I did do it for many other ancestors who had folks with same surname in that HH.
Otherwise, the search system can't find these people by their full names. Remember, they would have been enumerated with a dash for surname, followed by a given name. My transcription replaces the dash with the actual surname.
"How do you spell that?" is the #52Ancestors prompt by Amy Johnson Crow for week #15.
The index isn't perfect, but it works surprisingly well. Do check it out!
At a minimum, search by city and state, then enter the head of household's name in this order: Surname Given.
Ideally, first input city, state, and Enumeration District, let the ED load, and then enter the HH head's name.
In 90% of my searches, the NARA results show me the exact page where my ancestor has been enumerated.
If not, I then look carefully at the index summary for the top result before moving on.
Shown above are the extracted names for a Census page in Jackson, Michigan. My search was for Farkas Fred (Surname, Given).
Two names are in bold in this search result. The first is FREDE (not my guy). The second is FARKAS. But wait, who's this Arthur Farkas? Um...
Before I rejected this result, I checked out the names of other people in that household and hooray! This is the correct family. It was recorded on a call-back sheet (meaning the family wasn't home when enumerator originally visited) and all the other names in the household are correct, as is the occupation of the head of household.
My guess: neighbors supplied as much information as they could remember. They just didn't remember this ancestor's first name correctly. Everything else matches. Did I learn anything new? Well, the address was different from what I expected. And my search technique turned up the ancestors I wanted to locate. All I had to do was check it out thoroughly before moving to the next result.
"Check it out" is this week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.
In most cases, the notes mentioned where a missing resident might be enumerated elsewhere in that ED (sheet number, line number). At least two of my ancestors, living in big city apartments, weren't home on the first call--and were never actually interviewed. The notes said something like "Superintendent provided information after 4 calls."
Enumerators occasionally noted that they had left income forms for residents to fill out and return confidentially. Others noted the presence of more than one apartment at a dwelling or the fact that an address was a vacant dwelling.
You just never know what little details you'll learn if you read the notes! Some interesting notes I've found so far:
Why isn't my ancestor shown in the right place?
If the person wasn't home, the enumerator would usually note on that address line, sending you to "sheet 71, line 3" or something similar to find the person who would ordinarily be at that address. Always check pages at the end of the ED.
Starting with sheet 71, enumerators listed people who they interviewed on a subsequent visit. I've seen as many as 10 additional pages for callbacks in a single large ED. Check the end of every ED if you don't find your ancestor where expected.
Download the page
Once the page downloads, rename that page so you know what it is. In this case, I named the file Hanes_Bernard_1950Census.jpg. Then I put it into a dedicated 1950 US Census folder on my desktop. Later, I'll copy it into my "Hanes" genealogy folder and upload it to my various family trees.
Happy hunting! I'm still looking for more ancestors and then will widen my search for FAN club members.
PS: Here's what blogger Amanda Pape suggests: "If the ED that Ancestry's 1950 Census District Finder tool turns out to be the wrong ED (and that has happened to me a lot, particularly in large cities like Houston and Chicago), then use the Steve Morse tools (that you've blogged about before). I've also had some luck, when the Ancestry ED is wrong, just searching by state, county (or city/county), and just the surname (if unique enough) or the HOH surname & first name combo. I'll usually try that first before moving on to Steve Morse."
Search example
Shown above, one of the search screen examples provided by NARA. I added the title to the slide, the thunderbolt (to show the name "John Doe" being searched), and the red boxes (to show two of the results that match the search).
We can search by surname only, by given name only, or by both. We can add a location (state, county, city, and/or Enumeration District number) to narrow the search.
We can view the results as a list or in a grid...we can view more than 25 results on one screen...we can click on the "Population Schedules" button to view that ED's pages for a result that looks promising.
You can watch the NARA video here -- and don't miss the comments in the chat, where we learned two absolutely key details.
Name index not available for bulk download!
NARA will not make its basic name index available for bulk download along with the population schedules. As a result, Family Search, Ancestry, My Heritage, and other genealogy groups that download the entire 1950 Census will not have access to NARA's name index as the foundation for creating their own.
On April 1, all of these sites will have the 1950 US Census available for browsing. However, they will have NO index for some time (weeks? months?).
Bottom line: If you want to try a search instead of browsing for ancestors, NARA's site will be the only game in town for now.
Improve the index by adding surnames!
NARA will allow members of the public to improve the index in various ways. Of course, we can correct names that are not spelled correctly. But we can also add surnames to household members who only had a dash, because their surnames are the same as the head of household.
Here's why that is a big help. The automated indexing transcribed each line as it appeared. Let's say one household, a mother and two children, looks like this:
Smith, Mary A.
_____, John
_____, Tessie
Neither John nor Tessie will have a surname transcribed, because their surname is the same as the head of household and therefore the enumerator was told to only put a dash. The technology used for indexing doesn't read the dash, only the names "John" and "Tessie."
Now NARA will allow members of the public to add the surname to those two children. This will help anyone looking for John Smith and Tessie Smith to find them by their surname AND given name. Otherwise, we'll need to use NARA's recommended strategy of searching for head of household to find Mary A. Smith and then look in her household for the children.
My plan for April 1st and beyond
I can browse images on NARA or on any of the big genealogy sites, but I can search only on NARA in the beginning.
I've also signed up with Ancestry.com to be notified when it has completed indexing states in which my ancestors lived. Take a look at the Ancestry page for more info here.
Plus I'll be keeping an eye on MyHeritage's 1950 US Census plans as they develop. The company just announced its Census Helper tool, which will identify ancestors on your family tree that are likely to be included in the 1950 US Census.
Want to help index this Census? FamilySearch is inviting volunteers to join the project and speed the process along. Thousands have already signed up. Read more here.
