Category Archives: 1940 U.S. Census Community Project

1940 U.S. Census Community Project, Genealogy, Surname Saturday

Surname Saturday and the 1940 Census meet!

Leave a comment

As many of you know I have been part of the large team that is busy indexing the 1940 Census. I indexed  a few pages in the Oregon census. There I ran across who I thought might be a cousin, but I had no information on this man and so I moved on.

In the past week or so a cousin of mine was working on part of the KAYE family that went from Ontario Canada to Wisconsin moving further west to Washington State then some of the descendants of Abel were found in, you guessed it, Oregon. Trying to pin down where Claude and John C. Kaye are located  in Oregon. Dave sent me some information that put one man in Clackamas Oregon and one in Milwaukie Oregon. I didn’t have a clue if these were counties or cities so I did a search at Family Search and I found Claude in Clackamas Co. on you guessed it the page that I had indexed earlier. The enumeration district was only a voting precinct so I still didn’t know what town. Using the road that he is listed on and doing a search on that road alone, I found a road that runs out of  Oregon City by the name of S. Redland Road. A dear friend of mine that lives in that area of Oregon said that was a major road in that area and that I was closing in on Claude.

I need to do so more digging and I am hoping I will find Claude’s final resting place and that of John’s as well.

Had I not been helping with the census, maybe that little piece might still be undone. There are thousands typing there little fingers off at The 1940 Census Community Project. What a feeling of accomplishment to bring up a page you know you transcribed.

Please remember this below outline, is work in progress and has not all been proven. Please take it  as a guide line and not the gospel truth.

This is a short outline of the Abel Kaye family:

Descendants of Abel Kaye

1-Abel Kaye b. 25 Aug 1838, Yorkshire, England, d. 16 Nov 1916, Ridgefield,
Washington, USA. (Clark Co)
+Eliza Wilson m. Bef 1874( I have more on this marriage, but it has not been put into my gen program yet.)
+Mary A. Kent b. Oct 1852, Wisconsin, m. 29 Mar 1874, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. 3
Aug 1932, Chehalis, Lewis, Washington
2-Sidney Kaye b. 17 Sep 1883, Dunn Co. Wisconsin, d. 7 Jul 1948, Marion,
Oregon
+Lula Louise Mattatall b. 20 Dec 1892, McPherson, South Dakota, m. 26 Jan
1914
3-Keith Kaye b. 19 Jul 1920, Ridgefield, Washington, USA. (Clark Co)
2-/Child Kaye/ b. Cir 1875, Tiffany, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. Bef 1900
2-Lillie Alice Kaye b. 29 Mar 1877, Tiffany, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. Feb 1970,
Molalla, Clackamas, Oregon
+Thomas Elmer Stratton b. 7 Sep 1873, Menominee, Dunn, Wisconsin, m. 24
Sep 1895, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. 16 May 1929, Enterprise,, Okanogan,
Washington
3-Albert James Stratton b. 22 Feb 1896, Menominee, Dunn, Wisconsin, d.
29 Sep 1963, Vallejo, Solano, California
3-Ralph Kaye Stratton b. 9 Jul 1898, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. 1 Sep 1961,
Clatsop, Oregon
2-Claude Kaye b. 7 Jun 1880, Tiffany, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. 23 Oct 1945,
Clackamas, Oregon
+Frances Yost b. 16 Apr 1884, Pennsylvania, m. 22 Aug 1907, Farmington,
Davis, Utah
+Anna H. Bridwell b. Aug 1877, Ohio, m. 19 Feb 1924, Multnomah, Oregon,
d. 16 Apr 1943, Multnomah, Oregon
+Jennie E. Cook b. 25 May 1880, Lyons, Ionia, Michigan, m. 10 Jul 1931,
Oregon, d. 17 Jun 1950, Orange, California, par. Seth B. /Cook/ and Annie
Elizabeth Bastione
2-Estella Kaye b. 23 Sep 1886, Tiffany, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. 21 Aug 1934,
La Center, Clark, Washington
+Emil Johnson b. 6 Apr 1882, Willmar, Kandiyohi, Minnesota, m. Cir 1905,
Washington, d. 8 Apr 1952, La Center, Clark, Washington
2-Harriet Irene Kaye b. Oct 1891, Tiffany, Dunn, Wisconsin, d. 21 Sep
1944, Vancouver, Washington
+Winfred F. Babler b. 19 Sep 1879, Monroe, Green, Wisconsin, m. 26 Feb
1916, Multnomah, Oregon, d. 9 Dec 1956, Brush Prairie, Clark, Washington

Looking at the dates and places, I am wondering if the family just might have traveled the Oregon Trail or at least part of it on their way to Washington. Hummmmmm something more to look into!

Happy Hunting!

 

 

1940 U.S. Census Community Project, Genealogy

Oh Where Oh Where can my Nana be in 1940?

Leave a comment

The question posed was; Have you found your family in the 1940 Census?

Indeed, I found my mother and her parents and two sibling in the 1940 Census.
I thought the task of finding them would be daunting,this family lived in Cleveland Ohio, but Mom recalled what street they lived on in Cleveland. Which made for a quick and easy find!

Before talking to Mom I thought this would be a task that just might take forever so, I started looking for my Dad and his parents where I thought they belonged. I picked them first because I figured how many folks could live in Newark, Licking County Ohio the population has got to be  less then that of Cleveland! How is that what you think the task is going to be easy, isn’t. In this house long ago we have decided not to say that word, when you do it only means things will be difficult at best. I guess I haven’t learned yet!

I have now looked through all Licking County. No grandparents, oh I did find her sister and her husband Uncle Tommy and Aunt Flossie, right where I thought they would be. I talked to Mom and said she believed that I might find them in Willoughby Ohio as she thought they might have lived there before they lived in Kirtland (which I have looked through too). I have only looked through a few Enumeration Districts in Willoughby. I have not found them yet. So I need to make a phone call and see if my Dad recalls where they lived in Willoughby, he would have been 3 in 1940 and I am not sure if he will recall, but it sure is worth a shot!

I was lucky indeed to find that my Grandparents in Cleveland actually ended up on the line that contained the supplemental question. In this case it was Grandpa Terrill. The extra questions asked included the birth place of your mother and father, what is your normal occupation. They also asked four questions about military service, which grandpa did not answer. Another grouping of questions pertained to social security. The information that he gave were things we already knew.  He was a chemist and his parents were born in Ohio and Pennsylvania and that he did have a social security number. Had it been another member of the family there might have been new information that we may not have known.

I would encourage those who to help index the 1940, it will make it some easier to search and the more folks that index the sooner you and others will be able to find their family easier. Visit 1940 Census Community Project and sign up. It is really very easy and you can do as much or as little as you like, there is no pressure to make a quota.

In the mean time

Happy Hunting!

1940 U.S. Census Community Project, Genealogy

To Index or Not to Index- to borrow a phrase

2 Comments

Okay, you say what is the fuss? Maybe you are thinking to yourself, what a daunting task indexing the 1940 census is.

The fuss, genealogical speaking, is that we will shortly have a look into our own grandparents and parents lives. The 1930 was awesome, but the 1940 census enumerated 18 yrs before I was born (you really don’t have to bother to do the math !), it will capture both of my parents and  my grandparents and a few of my great grandparents.

Daunting task, sure if one person does the indexing or even 100 would be indexing the census. The more folks we get to index the less time it will take to get the thing indexed! Is it hard, in one word NO. There is a wonderful program that you will install, if anyone has worked with the program called Transcript it is very much the same. The census page will show up in the upper part of the screen and on the lower will be the areas for you to fill in. Probably the only difficulty you might run into is either bad image  or hand writing that is hard to read. The writing should be somewhat easier to read as it is closer to the cursive that we learned in school.

I would urge you to visit the U.S 1940 Census Community Project and sign up to index. After you sign up and download the program you will find a practice 1940 census that you can try. I have indexed for a while and the great part is you go at your own speed and they don’t hound you about what you have or have not accomplished! Do you have five minutes a day! Perfect, 2 hours wonderful! Just take a few and help out.

After you have done the run through of the 1940 sample there is a contest that you can enter at U.S 1940 Census Community Project information is found here.

Who will you find in the 1940 Census!

Happy Hunting!

As part of the1940census.com ambassador program this blog post enters me into a drawing for a Kindle Fire

1940 U.S. Census Community Project, Genealogy, Tech Tuesday, the1940census

1940s Transportation, Science & Technology/Willow Run and Rosie

6 Comments

I though long and hard what to present when writing about Transportation and Science and Technology that would be found in 1940. I could have talked about the great vehicles  built in 1940. GM, Ford, Hudson, Nash and many other automobile makers made many improvements to the automobile. Then I thought maybe I’ll write about the improvements in air travel or travel by train.

I settled on the people and not the advances themselves. It takes people, time and effort to bring about these changes. I live in a very diverse technological area.  Just east of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, even closer to Eastern Michigan University, both of which have added to learning and teaching. I live but a mile from another important hub in the 1940’s, Willow Run Airport.  You ask me what does Willow Run Airport have to do with anything but transportation? You question would be founded in most cases, but many changes have occurred on this piece of ground straddling the Washtenaw and Wayne Co. border in Michigan. Maybe the most well know use for this property was as a B-24 bomber plant run by the Ford Motor Company. Willow Run was also one of the many plants where young women from all over lower Michigan came to work, known as “Rosie the Riveter” , during WWII and the building of the B-24 bombers. There were two Rosies, but the one used for the propaganda program to encourage husband to spur their wives to take on goverment jobs to help with the war effort and many thousands, worked at Willow Run. According to Wikipedia ,Rosie the Riveter became most closely associated with Rose Will Monroe, Rose was born in 1920 in Pulaski County Kentucky and moved to Michigan during WWII. Rose worked at Willow Run Airport.

http://archive.ccm.edu/rosie/index.htm
This trend in many cases changed the factory work force in the years to come. The women were encouraged to return to their earlier jobs, usually with less pay, or to return home to homemaking after the end of the war. There were those who stayed on at these jobs.

The airport didn’t open until 1942 and Rosie wasn’t Rosie until WWII so these things won’t found in the 1940 Census, but I am sure curious how many of the  women will be found in the Wayne and Washtenaw Counties here in Michigan whose lives in a few short years are changed forever as they “help” with the war effort as working women in the Willow Runs of this country. Their places in the home and “women’s” work force will be found in the 1940 Census.

Who was the Rosie in your family, you can find her in the 1940 census.You can find her yourself by joining the 1940  U.S. Census Community Project today and help to index the 1940 census.

Happy Hunting!

1940 U.S. Census Community Project, Genealogy, the1940census

What Happened the Year the Class of 1958 Was Born ?

Leave a comment

I am sure the class of  1958 had its dreams, just like “The Class of  57”*
Let’s look and see what their parents were dreaming or worrying about besides there little bundles of joy that would be making their appearances sometime in 1940. 

  • The population of the United States was  132,164,569, now that is a few people to index!
  • Unemployment was near 14% with about 8,120,000 unemployed
  • Minimum wage $.30 an hour
  • Your new house would have cost about $6,550.00
  • Run down to your local car dealer and grab a car in the range of $800 or so.
  • Gallon of gas! Hold your breath was…………….are you ready?  $.18 !

So what did they do for entertainment.

Here are the movies that were popular in 1940

  • The Philadelphia Story/ Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart
  • The Grapes of Wrath / Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine,
  • Rebecca /Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
  • His Girl Friday/Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
  • Fantasia/Mickey Mouse
  • Pinocchio/Mel Blanc, Don Brodie, Walter Catlett and many more wonderful voices
  • The Great Dictator/Charles Chaplin, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner
  •  The Westerner/Gary Cooper,Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport
  •  The Thief of Bagdad/Conrad Veidt, Sabu, June Duprez
  • The Road to Singapore/Bob Hope, Bing Crosby

The Class of  “58” Celebs

  • Al Pacino
  • Rodger Miller
  • Chuck Norris
  • Author, Edmund White
  • Willie Stargell
  • Alex Trebek (you’ll need to wait till 1941 Canadian Census for this young man)

There are many more folks that will be found on the 1940 US Census.
Who will you be looking for? What information will add flesh to the bones in your family tree?

Join the 1940 U. S. Census Community Project today , sign up to be an indexer.  Treasures await !

*The Class of “57” by the Statler Brothers.