More 1940 Census Resources
1940 Federal Population Census
Updated September 9, 2009
Start Your 1940 Census Research
Here is a checklist of things you can do to start your 1940 census research:
- Make a list of all the people you want to look for in the 1940 census.
Think broadly--ancestors, their siblings, cousins, etc.--anybody to whom you are related.
- Collect addresses for these people from city directories if they lived in a city.
NARA has original Circa 1940 City Directories for Washington, DC. The Library of Congress holds a large nationwide collection of city directories and many libraries hold local directories.
- Identify the enumeration district (ED) in which each address was located.
There are currently several ways to do this:
- Use NARA microfilm publication T1224, Descriptions of Census Enumeration Districts, 1830-1950 (155 rolls), which contains text descriptions of the enumeration districts used by the Bureau of the Census in 1940.
- Use NARA microfilm publication A3378, Enumeration District (ED) Maps for the Twelfth through Sixteenth Censuses of the United States, 1900-1940 (73 rolls), which show the boundaries for each of the enumeration districts.
- Use the 1930/1940 ED Converter utility found on www.stevemorse.org. This can be useful if you found your ancestors in the 1930 census and believe they were living in the same location for the 1940 census.
- Use NARA microfilm publication T1224, Descriptions of Census Enumeration Districts, 1830-1950 (155 rolls), which contains text descriptions of the enumeration districts used by the Bureau of the Census in 1940.
- Find your Native American ancestor in NARA microfilm publication M595, Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 (692 rolls),
if enrolled in a tribe and living on an Indian Reservation.
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