Monday, April 2, 2012

1940 U.S. Federal Census Schedules Released After 72-Year Hold

Today is the day millions of family historians have been waiting for — the official public release of the population schedules and other historic documents which make up the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. While the data was collected in 1940 with an official census date of April 1st, the individual schedules were retained as part of a long-standing privacy agreement later formalized by statute.

There are at least two separate efforts being undertaken to index the entries contained within this collection. The leading commercial genealogy web site, Ancestry.com, was the first to announce its plans, as well as a consortium of others working together (FamilySearch.org, Archives.com and FindMyPast.com).