ancstry.com and 1940 Census

charliemis · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:10 am Post subject: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

Initial access to the 1940 Census on ancestry.com is a big disappointment....very few records ar available so far, only a few states are included. They are still working on loading the records and indexing them....

I think it was a big "bait and switch" as they are now saying they just received the data from NARA....earlier ads were not so specific.....just the indication that the Census data would be available on 4/2.....no details on what was going to be available.

tjbrn · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:00 am Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

The National Archives site is virtually non-functional. It is apparently clobbered by search requests. The 1940 Census is there but the servers don't have the capacity to handle the load. I've tried several times but have decided to be patient. Ancestry could not have access to the records before today according to the law governing the census so what is listed so far is what has been done since midnight.

autumndivona · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:22 pm Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

Other sites that will have the 1940 census have been very specific about which states will be available and when (such as 10 p.m. eastern standard time). As much as many people want to jump on the 1940 census, it's best to wait and be realistic that indexing it will be a *huge* task that takes months, not days. I don't know what Ancestry advertised, since I'm not a member, but I'm sure it made it sound like images AND indexes would be completely available on the 2nd. Their ads are often so misleading, which is why I'm not a member. Wink

I chose just one ancestor I desperately need to research (she's a brick wall and the 1940 census is the last one in which she should have appeared, before she died), and bookmarked the NARA page for her town. I'll look at the images in my morning, when everybody back home in the U.S. is asleep, and hope that NARA traffic has slowed down by then!

Other than that, I'm waiting until the excitement of the newly-released census has subsided, and some indexes have been created. I'm an FHL indexer, and will certainly contribute to the effort. Smile

charliemis · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 4:10 pm Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

I was able to sign up for a 6 month US subscription (senza CC; cash -- so it is not automatically renewed) for $49.00 to see what info I might have been missing that became available recently. I was also planning to use it for the 1940 Census, so hopefully that info will be available over the next 120 days so I can get some benefit.

Cathy · V.I.P. Joined: Jul 10, 2007 Posts: 2681

Charlie, do you know where they lived? (the exact address) If you do, you can find the enumeration district and find them now. If you have the address go here and type it in. after you do that click on the map for cross streets and it will take you to that enumeration district when you click on the number.

charliemis · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:52 am Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

Hi Cathy,

In some cases I did not have their actual address........I also tried using the 1930 ED convertor for an address in Philadelphia and it missed by about 10 blocks and two hours of additional searching before I tried using just the street names instead......it will take some time to learn all the tricks.

nuccia · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:46 am Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

I`ve decided to also wait a few weeks - for me I felt disappointed when I couldn`t find my great grandfather. I know where he lived - he always lived there and died there and yet somehow he wasn`t there. I can only hope he was off visiting someone and was counted there - for now I have to walk away or it will drive me insane

JoeB · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

Off Topic to charliemis.... Re: Philadelphia: Is Ralph's Italian Restaurant still in business? Ate there once, my wife bought the cook book, been eating Ralph's recipe's ever since.
Joe B.

charliemis · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:45 pm Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

Hi Joe,

It is still listed in the Yellow Pages.....I have been to a lot of restaurants in South Philadelphia, but never to Ralph's.....It was always pretty popular:

Ralph's Italian Restaurant
760 S 9th St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 627-6011

JoeB · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:22 am Post subject: Re: ancstry.com and 1940 Census

Thanks Charlie. It must have been 20 years ago. Glad to hear it's still prospering, nice people running the place. Joe