The younger generations of our adult children and grandchildren are hooked on video games. Well, I’ve found a game for us, the generation of 50- Plus years, who are readers of this publication. If you were born before the summer of 1940, you will be found on the 1940 US Federal Census. Seeing yourself on an image of an original census page is a tour of your childhood neighborhood.
Linda Johnson
The younger generations of our adult children and grandchildren are hooked on video games. Well, I’ve found a game for us, the generation of 50- Plus years, who are readers of this publication. If you were born before the summer of 1940, you will be found on the 1940 US Federal Census. Seeing yourself on an image of an original census page is a tour of your childhood neighborhood.
I had the pleasure of helping a guest in the Larimer County Genealogical Society volunteer help room, do just that. My guest last Thursday is also a 50-Plus reader and gave me permission to mention her in this article. On the library version of Ancestry.com, we typed in Marilyn’s father’s birth year and location on the first Search screen, and we were off! Up came the typed view of her father’s household, in which Marilyn was three years old. We clicked on “view image” of the original census and saw even more data.
On the census original image, you are to be found with your family, in your childhood surroundings. Enlarge the print with the plus-minus bar on the right of your screen, so the census taker’s penmanship is easier to decipher. Look at neighbors on your page and those in your town on pages before and after yours. It will bring back memories.
If you are not on the 1940 census, the 1950 will be available after April of 2022. In the meantime find your people on the 1940. Ancestry.com is user friendly, and census sources are available on many genealogy sites. Society volunteers are available on Thursdays from 1-5 pm at Fort Collins Old Town and Loveland libraries and no appointment is needed.
~ Linda Johnson is a Board member and Membership Chair for Larimer County Genealogical Society. Visit our website: www.lcgsco.org or our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lcgsco for our many events.