1940 census: Understanding the employment fields

The 1940 federal census captures a critical moment between the Great Depression and the United States’ involvement in World War II. It’s no surprise the U.S. government asked 10 specific questions about employment for anyone 14 years of age and older in the 1940 census.

At the time, the federal and state governments sponsored numerous Emergency Work programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which provided unemployed people with jobs to keep them off poor relief; the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which gave men ages 18 to 25 jobs in conservation, typically with national and state parks; and the National Youth Administration (NYA), which provided high school and college students part-time jobs.

People ages 14 and older were asked about their employment status (questions 21-31). People enumerated on rows 14 and 29 were asked supplementary questions on employment as well (questions 42-47).

According to the census enumerator instructions, people ages 14 and above were divided by workers in the labor force and those not in the labor force the week of March 24-30, 1940. Workers in the labor force were broken down into four categories:

1.     In private or non-emergency federal, state, or local government work (“yes” to question 21). This included people in sales and service; farmers; unpaid family workers who contributed to the family income by working on the family farm or in the family business (other than housework or incidental chores); people who had five or more boarders; and people who worked at home for individual customers (dressmaker, laundress, etc.) or commercial employers (such as factory piecework).

2.     At work or assigned to public federal or local emergency work programs, such as WPA, CCC, and NYA (“yes” to question 22).

3.     Currently seeking work (“yes” to question 23).

4.     People who were absent from work during that week but have jobs, businesses, or enterprises (“yes” to question 24), whether on vacation, temporarily ill, temporarily laid off or on strike. This did not include seasonal workers, for example, the “professional football player and the housewife who works as a saleswoman during the Christmas season.”

Workers in private or non-emergency federal, state, or local government were asked how many hours they worked during the week of March 24-30, 1940 (question 26), while emergency program workers and job seekers were asked how many weeks they were unemployed up to March 30, 1940 (question 27). Weeks of working for public emergency work were to be counted for weeks of unemployment. Workers also were asked very specifically their occupation (question 28) and industry (question 29) and what class of worker (question 30):

• PW: wage or salary worker in private work
• GW: government worker paid wages or salary
• E: employer (farmers with hired farm laborers, store owners with paid employees, etc.)
• OA: working on own account (lawyers, doctors, farmers, etc., who did not employ paid helpers or assistants)
• NP: unpaid family worker who “contributed to the family income, on the family farm, or in the family shop, store, etc.”

Inmates (“Inst.” for question 21) of “prisons, reformatories, jails, penal farms or camps; institutions for the mentally diseased, mentally defective, or epileptic, and home for the aged, infirm, or needy” did not answer questions 22 through 34.

People not in the work force, those who answered “no” to questions 21 through 24, were asked in question 25 if they were engaged in housework (H); in school (S); unable to work for reasons of physical disability, old age, or illness (U); or, “for any other reason, were not at work, not seeking work, and without a job” (Ot). 

Back to 1939

Question 31 asked how many weeks a person was employed in 1939, which allowed the football player and Christmas saleswoman to be counted as employed. Question 32 asked the amount of wages or salary for Jan. 1, 1939 through Dec. 31, 1939. However, it did not include business profits, sales of crops, or fees for income. The limit for this column was “$5,000+.” Question 33 asked about income of $50 or more from sources other than wages or salary, including business profits, fees, rents, unemployment benefits, direct relief, interest, dividends, and income in kind paid as wages. However, it did not include lump sum inheritances or sales of land (“unless the person regularly earns his living by buying and selling such properties”). If the person operated a farm, check out the farm schedule (the number on the farm schedule is included in column 34).

1940 Census Index Project posts remaining five states

On August 21, the FamilySearch blog posted that the 1940 Census Community Project has completed indexing all 50 states and uploaded the indexes to the FamilySearch.org web site. The last five states were Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Indexes for Guam, Panama Canal, and the Virgin Islands have been posted as well. The last items on the project's list, the territories of Puerto Rico and American Samoa, will be uploaded soon. 

On April 2 at 9 a.m. the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) uploaded the census pages online (all 3.8 million of them!). Two weeks ago, subscription site Ancestry.com finished indexing the 1940 census first, using paid indexers in China, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. In just four months, however, the 1940 Census Community Project worked together to create an everyname index for NARA, Archives.com, FindMyPast.com, ProQuest, and FamilySearch.org with 160,000 unpaid volunteers from around the world. The Ancestry.com and 1940 Census Community Project web sites give free access to the 1940 census index and census pages.

Having two different indexing sources can help your genealogy research. Some bloggers, such as Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings, have been making name-by-name comparisons of both indexes. Me, I like Ancestry.com's enhanced image viewer. But, after trying many variations on Ancestry.com, in just a minute on FamilySearch.org, I found my first cousin twice removed, Harry Henry, in Boston. Yes, his wife told the census taker he was a decade younger, but I know it's Harry because he was a musician working on the WPA music project, just like he stated in his 1942 World War II draft registration. 

The 1940 community project inspired many genealogists to work together on a common goal. The next big project is indexing the U.S. immigration and naturalization records, including the Boston passenger lists 1820-1891. Consider volunteering.

USS Constitution sails again

USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere by Anton Otto Fischer 

On August 19, 2012, the venerable USS Constitution set sail to commemorate its defeat of the British frigate HMS Guerriere 200 years ago. Built at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard in Boston, the three-masted heavy frigate was launched in 1797 to provide U.S. Navy protection for American merchant ships. Although made with a wooden hull, the Constitution earned its nickname as Old Ironsides during this fierce 35-minute battle.

As part of the 200th year celebration of the War of 1812, the USS Constitution left its dock at the former Charlestown Navy Shipyard with 285 passengers and crew. It traveled for 17 minutes under its own power, about 1,100 yards at 3.1 knots, before tugboats took the warship to Fort Independence on Castle Island. There, in front of a large crowd, Old Ironsides fired a 21-gun salute. 

In 1812, the British Empire was deeply involved in its war with France and did not anticipate some of its actions—such as the impressment of American sailors, trade restrictions, and support for Indian raids—would cause its former colonies to turn against the mother country. The War of 1812, however, truly defined the United States of America as its own nation. Despite its name, the War of 1812 lasted two years and eight months, ending with the Treaty of Ghent in February 1815. The USS Constitution and Francis Scott Key's "The Star Spangled Banner" are two of the best-known symbols of the War of 1812.


Genealogists are commemorating the War of 1812 too with the Preserve the Pensions project to digitize the War of 1812 pension files and make them available free of charge. 

Ancestry.com's new image viewer enhances the 1940 census

With the release of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com highlights its new interactive image viewer to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. Since the 1940 index and images are freely accessible at Ancestry.com, everyone can check out how technology really improves how we view old documents. Still in its beta release, the viewer covers the basics—click-and-drag, rotate, flip, contrast, magnify, pan, share, save—and takes a giant leap forward with new features.

How It Works

The 1940 census search page looks much like any other search on Ancestry.com. For this example, I searched for Clarence Almon Torrey, born 1869 in Iowa, died 1962 in Massachusetts. A well-respected genealogist of the Jacobus school, he spent decades creating what would become the seminal New England Marriages Prior to 1700. After clicking his entry on the results page, something special happens. His row on the 1940 census is highlighted in yellow, and his family group (head of household Etta Quilty and lodger Anna Huntley) appears in green.

At the top of the screen it says “1940 United States Federal Census for Clarence A Torrey” (our highlighted name). Below that, “Massachusetts > Suffolk > Boston > 15-605 > Page 24 of 40,” followed by triangles to page up or down. At the top of the census page, you see Torrey is in ward 17, block 17. But if you click on the green tab on the far right, you’ll see more details for the ED number that do not appear on the actual page: “BOSTON CITY WARD 17 (TRACT X-5C - PART), ST. MATTHEW´S CONVENT.” Below that, the overlay adds source information and a blurb about the 1940 census. Although it includes the series number (T627), data on this screen does not include the specific roll number. You need to return to the previous screen for the rest of the citation: “Roll T627_1676; Page 12B; Enumeration District 15-605.”

Index Tab

On the bottom of the screen, click on the green Index tab. Here you’ll find a partial transcription of each row, including line number, house number, street name, surname, given name, relation to head of household, gender, race, age, estimated birth year, marital status, birthplace, residence in 1935 (city, state), live on farm, and citizenship. All of these fields are editable except estimated birth year and 1935 residence. That means you can make changes to the actual index, give a reason (transcription error, incorrect in image, nickname, name change, variation, maiden name), and “explain or source your alternate (optional).”

Since I didn’t find any problems with Torrey’s entry, let’s use my uncle’s family as an example for the 1940 census. Since no correct hits appeared on the results screen, I tried searching by first name and place only, with the addition of parents and siblings to narrow the results. As expected, his uncommon surname was misspelled and I fixed it in the index overlay with a notation that it was a transcription error. (I could read the census taker’s handwriting better than the indexer did because I am very familiar with this specific family.) In the index, his mother’s name was listed as “Lilly.” Perhaps that’s a D and the census taker really wrote “Tildy”? I don’t know, but I used the editing feature to say her name was really Matilda. Later, Ancestry.com will review the alternate data users provide, and if the arbiter agrees, you’ll see both the original and alternate spellings in the index. You’ll also get a nice email from Ancestry.com saying thank you, your changes have been added to the index.

I wish all online genealogy databases had this user-edit feature. Providing alternate information improves the index and helps others with their research. After all, an indexer is transcribing sometimes hard-to-read handwritten records while users, with years of research studying that same family, have extra insight.

Rows and Columns

As you pan to the right of the census page, on the left-hand side appears an overlay of the indexed names for each row. That way you never lose sight of Torrey’s row (still highlighted in yellow) and you have a list of his neighbors.

At the top of the census page, there’s a drop-down overlay for the column headings. Even better, as you select an individual data field in a row, it is outlined in orange and above that, you’ll see a balloon of either the transcribed data or a tip for what type of information should appear in the field. For example, for line number 67, column 7, “Name: Clarence A Torrey” pops up in an orange-outlined balloon. Column 28 is blank, though the balloon tip tells me “Occupation” should be written there. Column 32, “Income,” is blank as well, but “yes” is written under “Other Income” for column 33. If you want to find out more about question 33, pan to the top of the census page and click on that field. Up pops another balloon with the details: “Did this person receive income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary? (Yes or No.)” This feature also works well with the information at the bottom of the census page.

Conclusion

Overall, I am pleased with Ancestry.com’s interactive viewer. If you have volunteered for FamilySearch Indexing projects, you’ll find Ancestry.com’s interactive viewer is somewhat similar to what indexers see while doing data entry. But Ancestry.com’s viewer is the next step; without the indexing, there could be no interactivity.

Learn more from Ancestry.com about the interactive viewer. Since it's still in beta, you can send comments to help improve features in the viewer.

1940 U.S. census indexed and free to access

On Friday, August 3, two big announcements hit within hours. Ancestry.com and the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project had finished indexing the 1940 U.S. census. 

Putting This Monumental Task in Perspective

On April 2, the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) first released the digital images at 9 a.m., and within hours the official 1940 census site was overloaded by eager genealogists. Taking some of the pressure off NARA's site, Ancestry.com uploaded the first of the 3.8 million images online, with other companies soon to follow.

Ancestry.com also completed the 134 million everyname indexing project first too, by outsourcing the project to China, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The Ancestry.com 1940 census images and indexes are free to use, though you need to log on or create an account to view them.

The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project worked together to create an everyname index for NARA, Archives.com, FindMyPast.com, ProQuest, and FamilySearch.org. Using the FamilySearch Indexing model, this project involved more than 160,000 volunteers from around the world. The last batch was submitted on Friday, but it will take a few more weeks for the quality auditing process to be completed. Much of the 1940 census is indexed and available on FamilySearch now—except for few states. Keep checking the sites for new additions. 

Keep the Momentum Going!


The 1940 community project inspired many genealogists to work together on a common goal. But the work is not done. The next big project is indexing the U.S. immigration and naturalization records. Currently, the Boston passenger lists 1820-1891 are only seven percent indexed. We need your help! Volunteer.

Genealogist's bookshelf: Medical miscellany

Besides reference and how-to genealogy books, history, historical crime, memoir, biography, and even fiction can give you insight into your ancestors’ lives—and possibly open up new avenues of research. 

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

The discovery of bones in her garden leads Julia to delve into an old murder with the help of an 89-year-old man and a box of documents from the previous inhabitants of Julia’s home. Interspersed with the modern-day story is another mystery set in 1830 Boston, where Norris Marshall struggles to pay for his medical education. This book depicts Boston Medical College and maternity wards. Warning: graphical medical descriptions.

The World Below by Sue Miller

In 1919, Georgia is diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to a sanitarium. She survives and thrives there, while others waste away. Many decades later, her granddaughter Catherine uncovers Georgia’s diaries of that long-ago time and has to readjust what she knows and what she’s just learned about her grandmother’s life.

Tethered by Amy MacKinnon

This murder-mystery describes the inner workings of the funeral business and an undertaker’s job. Warning: graphic mortuary descriptions.

Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg

Shortly before his mother dies, the author discovers she had a mentally and physically disabled sister. Luxenberg takes the reader through his exhaustive research to uncover who his aunt was and why she was committed at age 21 to a psychiatric hospital.

Death in all its details

Obituaries and death records often provide unexpected details that require further research.

Obituaries often give details about relationships, education, memberships, occupations, and even interests, but some gloss over death itself, with words like “after a lingering illness” or “suddenly.” Sometimes you can tell the cause of death by “in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to” a specific charity, such as a cancer foundation or a local hospice.

In some cases, cause of death is the headline, such as “Charlton Girl Dies of Spinal Meningitis.” Interestingly, when I contacted the cemetery for information on the girl’s family plot, I was given an official burial (or removal) permit that notes the cause of death was acute mastoiditis instead. The nine-year-old girl had been at the hospital for two months.

Fifteen years later, the girl's mother died in Connecticut—according to the removal, transit, and burial permit—of “compound fracture skull, laceration of brain (gunshot wound – suicide).” She was 42 and apparently remarried, though her gravestone shows her first husband’s surname. No obituary was written, but there must be police reports that I haven’t tracked down yet.

Over the last few weeks, I have been indexing death records for the FamilySearch Indexing project. Since cause of death is not needed for indexing, I don’t always look at the physician’s notes. However, a few were memorable.

• A 23-year-old married man died at the local drive-in theater of a severed spinal cord. How? He died of a gunshot wound.
• A 27-year-old man died of cancer, after suffering from the disease for seven years. At his young age, he already was a widower.
• In 1937, two men died in a highway car crash. One died of a punctured lung, though the physician also noted he had “broken legs, etc.” The other died of shock, having broken both arms and legs.

Imagine if these were your relatives. You’d be digging into the newspaper accounts, police inquest reports, and probate records, trying to fill in the blanks. And, oh my, what stories would you find?!