Wednesday, February 29, 2012

1940 US Census-Where Were My People?



 



Thanks so much for all the positive comments and followers!
I am humbled that anyone took the time not only to read my blog but to actually take the time to give me encouragement and to sign up to follow it.
  I am proud to say that I am an Official 1940 Blog Ambassador !  For anyone who doesn't know the 1940 US Census will be released on April 2,2012. It will be able to be viewed online for free. Volunteers are needed to index so that the records can be easily searched.
  The indexing initiative being sponsored, in part, by FamilySearch is called the 1940 US
Census Community Project.  Anyone can sign up to be an indexer. Never indexed before? That's OK! There will be webinars and practice batches to teach you how. I encourage anyone interested to go to the web page and learn all about this wonderful project. http://the1940census.com/
 Where will I find my people in the 1940 Census? I should be able to find my paternal grandparents Benjamin Allen Hudson and Mary Baker Hudson who were married in 1938 in Turbeville,SC. I am interested in finding out exactly where they were living and what life was like for them during the year before their first child, my father, was born. What information will be provided that I did not already know?

Ben, Mary and John Hudson abt. 1944

    My maternal grandmother Azile Daughrity should be living in Sumter,SC.  She married my grandfather Gilbert Ernest Roberts on 6 Oct. 1940. Gilbert was from Camden,SC where his family should be found working and living in the mill village. I hope be able to get an idea of their lives right before they were married and war changed them forever.
Gilbert Roberts and Azile Daughrity abt. 1940

  Azile's parents had died before 1940 but I should be able to look into the lives of her four sisters. Her oldest sister Mildred had been left a widow with a baby boy to raise. How was she coping and making a living for her and her child?
  John M. Hudson and his second wife Annie Thames Hudson should be found in the Alcolu, SC area. John had first married Annie's sister Blanche who died a few days after giving birth to my grandfather Ben. Life had been hard for them as John worked in the lumber industry. My father remembers visiting his grandparents as a child and being afraid to use their out house! I am looking forward to getting a "snapshot" view of their lives in 1940.
  Jubal Early and Ruth Baker were the parents of my maternal grandmother Mary Baker. They were living in Columbia, SC in the 1930 census but will they be found together in the 1940 US Census? I have been told that they divorced at some point but I do not know when. Maybe I can get a clue from the census.
 I am excited to see what I can find out about my great great grandparents Arthur Wellington Baker and Martha Victoria Bradford Baker from Sumter County,SC. Although Arthur died in Oct. of 1940 I should be able to find him and see what his life was like in the months right before his death. I have been told that several of their children and grandchildren lived with them from time to time. Who was living there in 1940?
Martha Victoria Bradford Baker bef.April 1947

 Will I find that they ran an Alms House as family lore suggests?
Arthur Wellington Baker bef. Oct.1940













So many questions and possibilities to explore in April. I am grateful for all those who will volunteer their time and energy to index this important record of our families. It will make discovering who are people are easier for us all.
 Where will you find your people in 1940?