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Here Comes the 1950 Census

Genealogists nationwide have their eyes on tomorrow. The 1950 U. S. census will be released on April 1, 2022. What will it tell us?

In addition to the usual questions asked every decade, we will see a few tidbits of additional information gathered from some people (six per sheet):

  1. Was the person living in the same house a year ago?
  2. Was the person living on a farm a year ago?
  3. What was the highest grade of school attended? Finished?
  4. How much did the person earn in 1949?
  5. If male, did the person serve in the wartime armed services?

The last person in the group of six also provided information on marital history, number of years since a change in marital status, and how many children a woman had borne.

How eager are people to see this information? My friends in the genealogy community seem mixed in their anticipation. Some say they already know where their families were in 1950, and they have no sense of urgency to see this record. Others, like me, are more curious.

I do not know where many of my family members were in 1950. I would like to find out where they were enumerated:

  1. My mother, Joyce Bentsen (1929-2000), was a college student that year. I believe she spent the 1950 school months at the University of Wyoming and the summer working in Yellowstone Park.
  2. My dad, Earl Reed (1927-2017), went to college sporadically from 1946-1954, so I do not know whether he was working or going to school in 1950. Was he in Wyoming or Colorado?
  3. My maternal grandparents, Martha Mattila (1906-1977) and Bjarne Bentsen (1906-1986), moved around a lot in the post-war years. I do not know whether they were living in Wyoming or South Dakota in 1950.

Sometime in the next week or so, I may take a peek at the 1950 census to see what I can find out. I do not expect any surprises, but I would like to fill in the blanks of my family’s whereabouts that year.

2 Responses to “Here Comes the 1950 Census”

  • Kathryn Alvestad:

    For many “Baby Boomers” like myself, this will be the first census we appear in! There is a bit of confirmation in that fact…as if we now “officially” exist. Not that showing up in birth records, school yearbooks, marriage records, and tax records isn’t enough. It’s just the CENSUS!

  • Tony:

    Wyoming and Delaware are already indexed on MyHeritage!

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