Posted on 04/02/2012 11:34:59 AM PDT by Brown Deer
The 1940 census records were released this morning, and the National Archives website buckled under the load.
About 1.9 million users hit the archives servers in the first four hours the data went public, but many of those users got no further than a screen that said Preparing Image.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Not to mention it’s of practically no use since it’s indexed by enumeration districts and not by the person’s last name.
Unless you know the location of the person in question - you ain’t gonna be able to get their info ...
For example, I know that a distant aunt and two cousins lived in a certain ward of Hartford, CT [as of the 1930 Census]. ASSUMING, they remained there for the 1940 Census, I would have to download ALL of the digital images for that ward and comb through them one-by-one to find my relatives ...
The NAME SEARCH for the 1940 Census IS NOT available at this time ...
so was the 1930 census when it was first released.
at ancestry.com, the following have completed uploading:
American Samoa, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Indiana, Maine, Nevada, Panama Canal Zone, Rhode Island, Virgin Islands
and the following is in the processs of being uploaded:
California, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Thanks - I’m a “New Yawker.”
One doesn't travel somewhere to scroll through microfilm. They travel somewhere to look at the actual documents. Just like Hussein's BC, don't cha know.
This has sometimes worked for me: look up every 5 - 10 pages or so to find the street, then fine tune accordingly. Look up a street map to see the streets in the neighborhood.
Nothing beats an every name search, but this hit and miss technique has saved me time. Even with a name database, sometimes the name is so badly misspelled, this technique has helped me.
Also - if you can get your hands on a city directory, you can get an idea if they’re in the same place. I’d do that first. Maybe you can connect with someone on the genealogical act of random kindness website to do a look up for you. Or the message boards on ancestry.com. If your family was in NYC, I would do it for you.
So, no need for me to look up the 1940 Census date. :)
Add this to their sponsorship of "Who Do You think You Are".......... You would think Ancestry and NBC could find one non-liberal to trace their ancestry.
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