1950 Census Occupations: Special Care!

 

As part of my prep for the release of the 1950 Census on April 1, 2022, I'm making notes about items to check when I browse the images for key ancestors. The 1950 Census has so much detail for genealogy purposes...including occupation. 

How will the 1950 US Census show the occupation of my ancestors? Some worked in "occupations for which special care is necessary" according to the instructions in the Enumerator's Reference Manual, which can be read and downloaded for free. But there are distinctions, and I'm not sure exactly how the enumerator will have captured the exact nature of these occupations.

Dad = travel agent or business owner?

Will the 1950 enumerator specify that my father, Harold Burk (1909-1978) was not just an agent but a travel agent? Or will the enumerator show him as a business owner (of the Burk Travel Service in Manhattan)?

My uncle, Sidney Burk (1914-1995), also worked in the business. Will he be shown as a travel agent, specifically? 

Uncle = teacher?

Will the 1950 enumerator specify that my uncle, Fred Shaw (1912-1991), was an economics or history teacher at a high school in New York City? The enumerator is supposed to identify the main subject taught by teachers. I'm going to see which subject was considered my uncle's main subject, since he taught both.

When is a clerk not a clerk?

The instructions say that a clerk who sells items in a store is to be enumerated as a salesman. A few of my ancestors worked in retailing. Will the Census show their occupations as clerk or as salesman or saleswoman?? I can't wait to find out.

Surprise?

Think about what you expect to see as your ancestors' occupations on the 1950 Census, and whether any special rules for enumerators apply. You may be surprised to see just how the occupations are described--and in how much detail.

Anatomy of a Bite-Sized Ancestor Bio

I've been writing bite-sized biographies of ancestors to share publicly on My Heritage, WikiTree, Find a Grave, Family Search, and other genealogy sites. Apart from listing basic facts (birth, marriage, death), I also like to provide context and family connections, making each ancestor three-dimensional. 

Above is an excerpt of a bite-sized bio I wrote for my paternal grandmother, Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954), and posted on her Find a Grave memorial page. Previously, I had posted a photo of her gravestone, as well as a photo showing her in 1937 (not visible in this excerpt). Also, I linked Henrietta to her parents and siblings, her husband, and one of her children on Find a Grave.

Headline summarizes the story

My preference is to add a headline summarizing the highlights of each bio. In the case of my paternal grandmother, the headline shows she was an immigrant ancestor, mother of four, grandmother of five. 

The bio mentions her work as a stenographer before her marriage, but I didn't list a career in the headline because she didn't hold that occupation for very long. If Henrietta had been known for a particular skill or talent (needlework, music, rocket science, etc.) I would have noted it in the story and the headline. 

Cradle to grave

My bite-sized bio includes the ancestor's birth date, place, and parents, plus siblings where it's natural to weave in that info. Exact dates are shown for key facts (birth, marriage, death for instance).

Sometimes there are special circumstances to note. I can't prove Henrietta was born in Riga, even though her husband's naturalization petition lists that as her birth place. Knowing that many immigrants in my family took the easy way out when asked about home town and named a nearby city instead of the tiny town where they were actually born, I used the wording "in or near." 

Next, my bio follows the major moves in Henrietta's life--literally a number of moves between her birth place, her residences, and then back and forth to Canada with her husband and children. Covering the key instances in her husband's life that affected her life creates a bit of overlap between the two ancestor bios, but that's OK. 

Sources noted (briefly)

To avoid interrupting the narrative flow of the bio, I note sources briefly in brackets. This signals to readers that the bio is based on solid sources beyond "family lore." Now or in the future, people can retrace my research with the aid of these brief sources. 

I also posted a version of this bio on WikiTree, Family Search, and My Heritage. This keeps Henrietta "alive" in multiple places online, and it also serves as cousin bait! 

Organizing and Storing Family History

In an informal poll on Twitter this week, I asked how people organize and store #Genealogy and #FamilyHistory materials. Here are the results, with 109 answers recorded.

Most used method: file folders

File folders took first place, with nearly 39% of the votes. Additional tweets noted that some people use color-coded files and folders. (Color-coding doesn't work for everyone, as Janine Adams wrote in a blog post this week.)

A lot of people said they use file folders in combination with other storage. Me too! See below.

Binders!

In second place: binders. I really admire how Paul Chiddicks organized his genealogical records, which he blogged about last year here. Do take a minute to see how he uses binders, with color-coded labels. Plus a table of contents in each binder. Great organization.

Digital storage

Several participants noted their use of multiple digital storage methods to supplement or replace physical storage. New to me was the concept of network attached storage, high-capacity digital storage that allows you to access files on the network from multiple locations (at home, at work, etc.). PC Magazine has a recent review of these devices, in case you want to see capacity and pricing.

One comment mentioned rotating two different hard drives; another comment mentioned off-site storage, such as keeping a hard drive backup at a second location. I have two hard drives plus cloud storage. I back up automatically every day at the same time, and also back up manually when I'm working on a particular file. 

My fave: archival boxes 

Although I use file folders extensively, my originals (including old photos, certificates, albums, yearbooks, and more) are stored in archival boxes, keeping the contents safe yet easily accessed.

As shown at right, these have reinforced corners and can be stacked without crushing the contents. With my trusty label maker, I write surnames and contents on two sides so I can see at a glance what's stored where.

The key is to experiment and find out what works best for you. 

Free: Finding Capt. Slatter in the Internet Archive

After watching Thomas MacEntee's talk on the Internet Archive during THE Genealogy Show, I returned to this data-rich resource with fresh ideas of what was available and how to search. 

Not only is the Internet Archive entirely free, it has some scanned resources from places that I would otherwise have to visit and research in person. See for yourself at https://archive.org.

Searching for John D. Slatter

Because Canadian collections are well represented on the Internet Archive, I began with a new search for Capt. John Daniel Slatter (1864-1954), my husband's great uncle. At the turn of the 20th century, Capt. Slatter was renowned as the leader of the internationally-known Kiltie Band, the 48th Highlanders of Toronto. 

From previous searches, I knew this ancestor was often mentioned in news items and in city directories as John D. Slatter. That's how I searched for him in text contents (see above) of Internet Archive. I didn't limit my search by date or by collection, but I did put his name in quotes to search only for that phrase. Some searches take a few moments longer but it's worth the wait.

New finds for free! 

On the first page of results, I found John D. Slatter in the text of a calendar from the Toronto Conservatory of Music for the 1914-1915 term. 

He was listed as Bandmaster, 48th Highlanders, and a teacher of cornet, French horn, slide trombone, euphonium, and tuba. Our family never knew this ancestor played tuba, and we never knew he was on the faculty of this institution.

Also I found calendars for the University of Toronto, for the period 1913-1917. John D. Slatter was listed in the university materials as being on the faculty for the Conservatory of Music in those years. The Conservatory had an affiliation with the university, listing faculty for both institutions. It's a small thing, but we didn't know about it.

Next, I'll plug in more Slatter names, because Capt. Slatter had two bandmaster brothers also in Canada. With luck, one or both will be in the Internet Archive.

UPDATE: I found new results for Captain Albert Slatter and more results for Capt. John D. Slatter! Nearly all out of copyright (check rights document by document) and available to post here and on my family trees. Below, Capt. John Slatter at center of front row, leading the U of Toronto band in 1937.

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"Free" is this week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.

Fourth of July Greeting from Last Century

 

More than a century ago, this colorful Fourth of July penny postcard was sent to my hubby's Wood family in Cleveland, Ohio.

Aunts, uncles, and cousins in the family took advantage of every opportunity to exchange penny postcards and stay in touch with a few words. 

Still in the family are cards they sent for Christmas, the New Year, and Thanksgiving. 

We also have postal greetings from holidays like July 4th, President Lincoln's birthday, and President Washington's birthday. 

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Independence Day.