1940 Census Links Part II: Fun Finds

Last time the links were about the hows of searching 1940. This time, they’re about some examples of the gold (and a bit of tin) at the end of that census rainbow.

• Kimberly Powell found her grandpa in big-city Pittsburgh.

• As the Gothamist reports, the New York Public Library is painstakingly covering the Famous New York People Angle, for example, J.D. Salinger.

• Plus, Stanley Kubrick.

• In all the 1940 excitement, it’s good to remember basic common sense. And Judy Russell at the Legal Genealogist reminds us, via an example in her own family, that the census can get things wrong, and should not be considered the final word.

• This brings us, neatly enough, to a great post from sci-fi blogger Mike at File 770, who investigated what little Robert Heinlein and his family in L.A. were up to in 1940. And they may have been having a blast making up stories to tell census takers. Don’t miss the lively discussion in the comments section. Those wacky Heinleins!

Am I done with 1940 yet? Heck no. (Is anyone?)

Forthcoming: a series of posts in which I explore a few early case studies from my own family — what I thought I’d find, what was actually there, and what I learned from it.

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