History Burgoo

The 1940 Census: Using the Enumeration District Numbers to Find Your Family!

Just like the draft board gentleman to the right, blindly digging out a name from a barrel, which member of your family will you pull out of the 1940 census on April 2^nd? This image is a great reminder of how blind we will all be when the images are released by the National Archives. With no searchable name index available, we must do a lot of extra homework to track down our ancestors!

So….what should you expect on April 2^nd?

All we know at this point, is that the images will be released to everyone at this special web site, at 9:00AM Eastern: http://1940census.archives.gov

Each state will be indexed to the enumeration level – which means you will be able to see batches of images lumped together by their Enumeration District number. A name index will NOT be available at this time. To learn more about the nationwide effort to help index the 1940 Census, please see this previous post.

How can you find an Enumeration District number for your ancestors?

Locate their address in 1940!

This is where true detective work is necessary to track down the elusive information. Follow some of these tips for finding their address:

1. Start a list or inventory of all of the family members/ancestors that would have been alive in 1940.
2. Look at personal mementos or letters/records already in your family’s possession that might list an address. Sometimes a greeting card will still be kept in an envelope that lists the address – & don’t forget about postcards!
3. City Directories: These are mainly for those family members who lived in larger urban areas. Unfortunately, you would need to consult real print versions of these, so get ready to track them down at local public libraries and other repositories. In the central Kentucky area, try your public library, UK, UofL, KDLA and of course, KHS. Here in the Library we have the following City Directories for 1940: Covington, Frankfort and Lexington (Other cities with directories from the 1930s or 40s: Ashland, Bowling Green, Danville, Georgetown, Hopkinsville, Louisville, Maysville, Middlesboro, Owensboro, Paducah, Paris).
4. Military records or draft cards.
5. Naturalization records.
6. Death certificates – I know we are trying to find the living in 1940, but any family member that died within a few years to a decade after the Census may have lived at the same address, and death certificates include an address.
7. 1930 Census. If you suspect the family was at the same residence in 1930, you will not be able to see the specific address, but you will be able to obtain two very important clues: previous Enumeration District number and neighbor groups that surrounded the family and who may still surround the family in 1940 (See the next section on how this number can help you in lieu of an actual address.)
8. Travel back in time: Well, not exactly, but in the area of your research. If you are not having much luck with 1940, go back to records that are between 5-10 years earlier if you suspect they lived in the same place. Or, travel forward if you suspect they moved just before the census was taken.

So….once you have the address or 1930 Enumeration District Number….then what?

1. Visit the NARA Online Public Access Portal to review the local Enumeration District maps of each county or large city. http://www.archives.gov/research/search Once here, simply type in the following search: 1940 Census maps + the county + the state (example: 1940 census maps + Franklin + Kentucky). The result will be a county and/or city-wide map of your requested area sectioned off and labeled with their Enumeration District numbers. Within the rural areas, the roads will not always be named – sometimes you will only see the old highway numbers within a circle – which means you may want to look at a modern map as a visual comparison. For the larger cities, the street names are included.
2. If you have the Enumeration District number from the 1930 Census, visit the same page as above and use the following search: 1940 Census Enumeration District descriptions + the county + the state. The result will be table descriptions, instead of maps, which lists the areas covered per Enumeration District, plus the 1940 number alongside the 1930 number.

Now that you have their 1940 Census Enumeration District number in hand, you will be able to pull up that Enumeration District at the NARA 1940 Census images web site listed at the beginning of this post.

And then…..browse the Census entries in this Enumeration District until you find your family unit. This is where viewing the 1930 list of family units in the area might prove to be helpful as a method of visually catching patterns when browsing through many pages of data.

For all other family units – repeat all of the steps above!

Need additional help with this process? Join KHS and KGS for the April 14^th Second Saturday workshop: The 1940 Census: Introduction, Instruction and Celebration. To reserve your free seat at this program, simply contact the KHS Reference Desk (khsrefdesk@ky.gov). If you would like to reserve a box lunch for the workshop ($6 payable upon arrival), be sure to have your reservation in to us by noon on April 13^th. **NOTE** This celebration will include cake, balloons, and door prizes – including three year-long memberships to Archives.com!

-- Cheri Daniels, Senior Librarian/Reference Specialist

Are these YOUR Kentucky Ancestors: Adair County?

As promised, we are back with another post to launch our “Are These YOUR Kentucky Ancestors?” series. We begin with Adair County, but don’t think we’re going to be consistent with the County selections. We start with Adair, but the series will next move to Woodford, and then to a County in the middle of the alphabet before we move on to Allen – that way, we shake things up and keep you guessing as to which County we are going to cover next!

For this week, we have pulled a May 1851 Voter record. We re-discovered this genealogical gem while processing some Special Collections items during our seasonal hours – and what a gem it is!

The front cover reads: New Constitution, Columbia Precinct, District No. 1, May Election, 1851, Adair County Kentucky.

Within the back pages, it explains that the Columbia Precinct includes the following Districts: East Fork, Big Creek, Harmony, Neatsville, and White Oak.
This 14 page, ledger-sized, booklet contains a basic spreadsheet that lists candidates and voters, with tallies indicating how each man voted. This is a wonderful example of how voting practices have changed! Only adult, white males were allowed to vote, and each vote cast was known by those in close proximity at the time, and by the officials recording the votes. The title page mentions the “New Constitution” which is important because Kentucky had just adopted a new Constitution in 1850 which had created a whole new range of voting laws. Under Article VI of this new Constitution it was stipulated that many local officials and judges were to be elected on the second Monday of May, 1851. To read the full 1850 Constitution for yourself, just visit this link posted by the Kentucky Court of Justice: http://courts.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/514E219E-9A7A-4D29-A862-0C9BD00A3EC1/0/3rdKYConstitution.pdf So, how is this related to your Adair County genealogy research? Voter lists/rosters can be valuable in various ways. The first and most obvious way to use this source is as another proof of residence in a certain area. Pre-Civil War records in Kentucky are variable, and pinpointing proof of residency can be a challenge. Another way, and perhaps my favorite way, to look at this record is through the lens of cultural/social genealogy. We must remember that our ancestors were not just names on a page or pedigree chart – but real people with beliefs and values. I always encourage genealogists to research the genealogy of a community. In that way, they learn more about their ancestors' lives, and not just names with birth, marriage and death dates. This voter list is a prime example of how we can get a glimpse of the historical context in which our ancestors lived.

By picking one candidate over another, can we really tell much about our ancestor? Well, we can glean clues about voter eligibility and naturalization status. We might also be able to learn that they cared about civic duty and elections, or, as in some cases in Kentucky history, it may mean that they were pressured to vote. The underlying story behind who was running at the time and what they stood for can greatly supplement or add spice to your family history! For more information about the rich political/voting history of Kentucky and the United States, I will list a few titles at the end of the post! However…..genealogy IS built upon a chart of names…..so here are just SOME of the surnames included in this voter list: Arnold, Atkins, Bailey, Barbee, Barton, Bradshaw, Bridgewater, Butler, Caldwell, Canterbery, Cheatham, Check, Coffey, Davis, Dohoney, Douglas, East, Estes, Eubank, Field, Fillman, Frazer, Gaither, Garrett, Gill, Grant, Hancock, Haskins, Hendrickson, Ingram, Jones, Lee, Lyon, Massie, McPete, Merrell, Miller, Montgomery, Morgan, Morris, Nally, Naylor, Owens, Page, Peck, Peebles, Pollard, Reynolds, Sallee, Smith, Sharp, Shepherd, Todd, Walker, Wallace, Watson, Wheat, Wheeler, Wilson - and that's just some of the voters - I didn't even list any running for office! Now….how do you access this voter list? Just visit the KHS Library and ask us to bring this (Catalog number FF1.80) out of our Archival Storage vault for you to view in person. Here is the link to our catalog entry for this item: http://khscatalog.kyvl.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=24081

As promised, here is the list of books about U.S. and Kentucky voting practices you may find interesting:

Kentucky Votes(2 volumes), compiled by G. Glenn Clift, 1960.

History of American Electoral Behaviorby Joel H. Silbey, Allan G. Bogue, William H. Flanigan, 1978.

Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, an American Political Tradition 1742-2004 by Tracy Campbell, 2005.

32 Votes Before Breakfast  by Jesse Stuart, 1974.

Next County in our series: Woodford

--Cheri Daniels, Senior Librarian/Reference Specialist

Billy the Fox Terrier

Sometimes you run across a story that is just too fun not to share. As the curator responsible for the Old State Capitol I’m always looking for interesting stories to add to our interpretation of the building. When I first started at KHS I ran across a 1908 newspaper article that talked about a fox terrier that lived at the Old State Capitol. The dog’s name was Billy and his job was to be the rat catcher. For many years we incorporated Billy’s story into our tours. I even bought a toy fox terrier to place in the library—a visual cue to the story. Recently we have changed our interpretation to focus more on the history the Civil War and what happened in the Old Capitol during that time. Since that time “Billy” has been sitting on my desk.

While looking for something else I came across the transcription of the newspaper article about Billy and I thought I would share it with you here.  It’s a cute story and gives some insight to the goings-on in the Old State Capitol in the early 20^th century.

From the Frankfort Weekly News and Roundabout July 4, 1908:

 

BILLY ABSENT

At the Psychological Rat Killing Moment.

 

CAPTAIN JACKSON MORRIS STAYS

RODENT AND DOG IS REGRETFUL.

            Think of killing rats in the Governor’s reception room.  The idea strikes the general public as being out of the question, but they don’t know the old State House, which is overrun with rodents.  Capt. Jackson Morris actually killed a good-sized rodent in his desk in the Governor’s reception room Thursday afternoon.  Capt. Morris used a ruler to destroy the animal, which had made his home in the desk for some time.  The fact that Billy was not there at the time was deeply deplored by everybody.  Billy is a fox terrier.  Billy is well known at the State House, where he spends most of his leisure hunting for rats which he never catches.  The trouble is not with Billy, as Billy is an expert rat catcher, and is a relentless foe of rats, but there are too many things under which the rats can go, but under which Billy can not.  The rats get away for this reason.  Billy has smelled rats in the Governor’s office for some time, but has never had a glimpse of them, and he has become discouraged.  He will get excited when he smells rats, but does not really expect them to come out and be killed.

            So on Thursday when he smelled a rat in the drawer of the desk presided over by Capt. Morris, Billy was merely mildly excited.  Billy knew that the rat would stay in the desk, and that he would not have any chance to kill it, but he told the men in the office that the rat was there and they could get it out if they would.  Nobody paid any attention to Billy’s remarks on the subject of rats for he has talked about them too much.  Capt. Morris was not there at the time, being outside in search of his dinner.  When he returned, the others told him Billy had shown signs of having discovered a rat in the drawer of the desk.  Billy, by that time, had gone on about other business.  Capt. Morris decided to investigate, and opened one of the drawers quickly.  The rat was there, and made a break for liberty, but Capt. Morris was too quick for the rodent and killed it with a ruler.  Then he wished he had waited for Billy, as everybody was anxious to see Billy kill a rat.  Billy does not know what he missed, but he will be disappointed when he learns of the adventure.

-Sara Elliot, KHS Curator

KHS Joins the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project – We Need Your Help!

In just over a month, on April 2^nd, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will release the 1940 United States Census in digital format. At 9:00AM Eastern Time, the digital images of each Census page will be available for browsing via their special 1940 Census web site: http://1940census.archives.gov/ This is by far the most exhaustive account of our population taken by the government. At this point in our history, the U.S. population was recovering from a depression and just about to head into a world war. The unique information contained within this census provides answers to such questions as: Highest level of education completed, renter or home owner, residence in 1935, yearly income, type of work and industry, mother tongue, number of marriages for women, military veterans/wars fought, & employment seeking habits. 

 

BUT WAIT!! Did you catch what I said about the images? They are BROWSABLE only. In other words, you can see the images but you CANNOT search for a person and find them in this census. It has NOT been indexed yet, and this is where YOU come in! Through a nation-wide, joint effort, the 1940 U.S. Census will be indexed by thousands of VOLUNTEERS. Once the project is completed, the index and images will be accessible to everyone for free, forever! This collaborative initiative is being brought to us by Archives.com, FamilySearch.org and FindMyPast.com with additional sponsorship by the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society. 

As part of this community project, the Kentucky Historical Society has partnered as an official Society to help coordinate statewide efforts of our volunteers. By joining with the KHS group, you’ll be notified of indexing training sessions, events and updates on how fast we are going! Plus, each milestone achieved by the KHS group automatically enters our Society into contests and qualifies us for group incentives, such as t-shirt giveaways and other cool stuff!

So....Ready to do YOUR part? Here’s how to help:

1. Go to the 1940 Census Community Project home page: https://the1940census.com/ and click on 'Getting Started' to follow the directions for downloading the free indexing software from FamilySearch. After your download is complete, opening the software for the first time will prompt you to create a FamilySearch account IF you do not already have one - after which you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Finish the confirmation from your e-mail prior to moving on to the next step. 
2. This one is IMPORTANT! Don’t forget to hook your account up to the KHS indexing group! You can do this one of two ways: Send an e-mail to khsrefdesk@ky.govlisting your name and login name from the indexing account you just created. DON’T send us your password! Or, you can edit your indexing profile to reflect a group affiliation and select Kentucky Historical Society from the drop-down group list. Your new indexing profile info can be accessed through: https://indexing.familysearch.org/ by clicking on the “my info” link in the top right corner of the screen. The group affiliation section is listed under the “Additional Indexing Information” section, just below your “Family Search Account Information”. Just click the edit button at the bottom of the page to change your group info.
3. PRACTICE! In preparation for the April 2^nd launch, download a batch of 1940 simulation census pages or regular (non-1940) records to start indexing today! If you have not done this before, go through some of the tutorials available under the “help” tab of the indexing portal listed in step 3. Indexing sounds pretty easy, but each type of record has its own set of instructions, and it is really important to train yourself to double check your work or slowly follow the directions for each part of the record in order to keep errors low!
4. HAVE FUN!! Once you get the hang of indexing, you will have a great time - kind of like playing a historical video game! After we get a large batch of volunteers we will be looking through your scores (yes, you get accuracy scores after each batch is finished) to find high quality indexers for arbitration roles. We will fill you in later on how the arbitration works, but essentially, you get an additional responsibility of arbitrating between two indexers' interpretations just prior to the images/index going live online!

 Indexing Training Opportunities Coming Up:

• March 15^th, 5:30-6:00PM – Introduction to Indexing: Helping You Get Started (Library)
• March 21^st, 2:00-2:30PM – Introduction to Indexing: Helping You Get Started (Library)
• March 29^th, 5:30-6:00PM – Introduction to Indexing: Helping You Get Started (Library)
• March 30th, 10:30-11:00AM - Introduction to Indexing: Helping You Get Started (Library)
• Beginning April 4^th – Drop-in Indexing Station. There will be one table/station set up in the Library dedicated to Indexing activity. Feel free to bring along your laptop, or use one of ours to sit and index as a group. Staff will be on hand to help you get started, or troubleshoot any issues you may be having. This station will be up and running during our regular open hours until Kentucky is completely indexed!
• April 14^th, 10:30AM-2:30PM – 2^nd Saturday – The 1940 Census: Introduction, Instruction and Celebration!

Coming Soon…..

Tools you can use to narrow your image browsing on April 2^nd!

--Cheri Daniels, Senior Librarian/Reference Specialist

"Women in Basketball" Examines Sport from the Female Perspective

“Women in Basketball” opens to the public March 10 at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History.

The exhibition offers a look at the sport from the female perspective, featuring the stories of women who influenced the game from its start to today. Visitors will have a chance to experience women’s basketball from around 1900, including using a ball with a seam, and then shoot some hoops with modern rules and equipment.

Women started playing basketball soon after it was invented in 1891. Their rules, however, did not allow dribbling, jumping, running, pushing or stealing. Changes in women’s basketball reflected society’s trends and expectations of women. A college basketball game in the 1910s was more akin to a social gathering with a game played afterward. In the 1950s, it was not unusual for members of a traveling women’s team to participate in a beauty contest before the game. 

All of that changed in 1972, with the passage of Title Nine. Title Nine requires educational institutions to offer female athletes the same opportunities as male athletes. Today, over 400,000 young women play high school basketball. They cannot imagine not being allowed to play and expect greater opportunities in college and professional leagues. “Women in Basketball” allows visitors to see the changes in the game and who they have to thank for them.

“Women in Basketball” was developed in partnership with the Frankfort Convention Center, which is hosting the 2012 NAIA Division I tournament.  It will be on display through May 5.