The count-down has begun—only two more weeks until the release of the 1950 Census! What will you find about your family on this census? You may find yourself looking for grandparents, parents, or maybe even yourselves. Perhaps you have wondered where an ancestor was living in that year, or what their occupation was. Have you ever wondered how much money your family earned back in the day? Well guess what—the 1950 Census will tell you. It will selectively tell you who was a veteran, and how many years of education some people had received. All of these details will add new dimensions to your family members and ancestors.
I am curious about where my Dad was living in 1950. He was a World War 2 Navy veteran attending Carnegie Mellon University on the GI Bill. He may have lived near campus, or perhaps he commuted from his parent’s home south of Pittsburgh. I am wondering what my maternal Grandfather did for a living in 1950. He had changed jobs regularly in earlier years, yet somehow managed to cover the rent. My other Grandfather was a coal miner, and the 1950 Census was taken exactly one year before he was critically injured in a mining accident.
Contrary to prevailing belief, it was common for women to do paid work back in the day. My Grandmother had worked for S.S. Kresge as a young mother. Whether she still had a job in 1950 is another gem remaining to be uncovered in the upcoming census release. My Mother also was working in the early 1950s, and the census will tell me what type of work it was.
A census record is like a photograph. We may not see what people physically looked like, but we can “see” what their lives were like through the information given. Besides personal details, a census record places our family in the context of a neighborhood, a work environment, and the greater community. Answers to many of our family questions will soon be available to us on our computer screens in the comfort of our homes!
To find out more AND to volunteer to index the 1950 Census, click on the link below:
