Ancestry has issued the following news release announcing that it is offering the complete index to the 1940 Census:
Ancestry.com
Releases Completely Searchable 1940 U.S. Federal Census
A searchable index to 134 million records makes researching
family history in the latest available U.S. Census dramatically easier
PROVO,
UTAH – (August
3, 2012) – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online
family history resource, is proud to announce that it has completed
the records indexing process for the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, which is
available atwww.ancestry.com/1940census. All 134 million
records are now easily searchable by name, date, place of birth and other key
information recorded in the census. These records, which are free to search,
offer valuable insight for the nearly 90 percent of Americans who either have
family members recorded in the 1940 U.S. Census or are in it themselves.
Since
the initial release of the 1940 U.S. Census by the National Archives in April,
Ancestry.com has progressively published information from this important family
history resource state by state. Ancestry.com has made this vital family
history information while providing an engaging user experience including the
ability to search for maiden names or other family names, often a roadblock
when searching records. Additionally, users can make corrections or update
information that is incomplete, leading to a better overall database of
information.
Assisting
in navigation of the 1940 U.S. Census is Ancestry.com’s Interactive Image
Viewer, which enables users to easily peruse document pages with simple
graphical overlays. The viewer adds highlights, transcriptions and other
functionality directly on the Census page. This enables searchers access to
small census fields by simply scrolling over them for a pop up that magnifies
the information recorded by census takers. With the ability to zoom in on
individual records, these new features dramatically improve the usability of
the 1940 U.S. Census, which previously only included images of the paper
records. These paper records, handwritten in small entry fields, have
traditionally been very hard to read, making the visual enhancements in the
Interactive Viewer a huge improvement.
“We
are so excited to be publishing our index to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census for
free on Ancestry.com,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “As one of the
most anticipated family history resources ever, the 1940 Census is a fantastic
way for almost every American to get started making discoveries about their
family history as well as a key new resource for so many of our two million
existing subscribers. Experienced through our new Interactive Image
Viewer, the stories and discoveries inside the 1940 Census really come to
life.”
Users
can now find basic information such as their ancestors’ names and where they
lived, but also gain more insight about their ancestors’ daily lives. This
information includes whether they owned or rented their home, the value of the
residence and how many people resided there. For the first time, census takers
in 1940 also asked questions specific to income and education. Interestingly,
details like prior military service, the ability to read or write, and whether
citizens spoke English – all asked in prior censuses – were not asked in 1940.
