Find your Roots With The 1940 Census Release

Genealogy is an important and fascinating part of each and every one of our lives.  Those people who work hard on uncovering our family origins and history our really telling the story of who we are and where we’ve come from.  Census records often help genealogy researches in their search for records, but what most people don’t know is that the census records from 1940 have never been made available to the public – until now.  On April 2, 2012, NARA released the digital images of the 1940 United States Federal Census.  This 1940 census release has been made available on several websites for free, along with a full index of all 1940 census data.  Can you see what famous person is in the above 1940 census?

There were 132 million people living in the United States in 1940, and that census is the most comprehensive, largest, and most recent set of records to include full names of all individuals living in the United States at the time the census was taken.  In addition, the 1940 United States Federal Census asked several new questions.  5% of respondents were asked the birth place of their mother and father, their usual occupation, and and questions related to marriage for all women who had been married.  The results of these new and unique questions will open up nearly endless possibilities for further researching family trees and genealogy.  If you are looking to further understand who your ancestors were, visit 1940 census on Family Search for more information and to access links to view the census results.