Thursday, June 28, 2012

1940 U.S. Census Update: 29 States Searchable on FamilySearch

As of yesterday, 27 June 2012, there are 29 states in the 1940 U.S. Census that are fully searchable on www.FamilySearch.org/1940census/.

Here's the map:



After less than three months, there are only 4 states west of the Mississippi that aren't searchable.  The volunteer indexing effort has been phenomenal - with over 130,000 indexers working at this to index and arbitrate over 132 million names.

The states that are "lagging" are:

*  New Jersey - 35% indexed
*  North Carolina - 27% indexed
*  South Carolina - 35% indexed

The states that I'm most anxious to search are Massachusetts, which is now 45% indexed, and Connecticut, which is 54% indexed.  I guess I will have to do some batches to get them finished sooner.

Since California is now searchable, I will start doing my one-name searches using Linda's Leland, Schaffner, and McKnew families to start with.  I have some unknowns in the extended families, and I think the 1940 census will provide more information about those families. While I found my mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents in San Diego County previously, there are still Kemp, Auble and Smith cousins, and their offspring, to find using the search feature.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/06/1940-us-census-update-29-states.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

3 comments:

Drew Smith said...

And in which states would I find my 1940 ancestors? New Jersey and South Carolina, of course. (George would find his in North Carolina.)

I feel singled out!

Anonymous said...

You're not alone, Drew! I'm itching for Massachusetts!

Unknown said...

Drew,
Most of my ancestors are in South Carolina also. I am helping to index the South Carolina census records so I can find my ancestors in the 1940 census. What are you doing to help?