Help Make History Accessible!

By Lauren Kuntzman

On April 1st, the 1950 U.S. Census was released to the public.  It has the potential to be a treasure trove of information for family historians… but only if the records can be easily searched.  

 

To help improve the searchability of the census, MCDL Genealogy Team has been contributing on FamilySearch by reviewing and correcting the census’s index.  Now, the Genealogy Team would love to have you join us in making these historic documents accessible to people around the world. 

 

To make it easy to help and to crowdsource our efforts for maximum impact, the Genealogy Team has created an online Indexing Group.  We’ve set a goal to review 50,000 names on the 1950 Census before Flag Day.  While the team has made progress toward that goal, we’ll need your help to review another 20,000 names in the next four weeks. 

Here’s how you can help! From your computer’s web browser: 

1. Sign in to FamilySearch. (If you need help creating an account, directions are available at this link.) 
2. Click this link https://familysearch.org/groups/family?groupId=MMM9-HTD&inviteId=MMM9-KWK and a MCDL Genealogy Team member will approve you to join our Indexing Group. 
3. Visit https://familysearch.org/getinvolved/1950 and then…

Click the state you’d like to review.  (Ohio is only 13% complete, so our home state is a great choice!)

In the “Review Names” box (bottom right), click “Get Started.” 

Skip filling in an optional last name and just click “Search.” 

Compare the text highlighted in blue with the text in the pop-up bubble.  If it matches, click the “Match” button. 

If the text doesn’t match, and you can read the handwriting, click “Edit,” correct the name in the pop-up bubble, and click “Submit.” If you can’t determine how it should be corrected click “Unsure.” 

Sometimes text that isn’t a name (like the enumerator's note "County Home" in the example below) was highlighted by mistake. In those cases, click “Not A Person.” 

Most users can complete 20 names in just a few minutes!

We hope you’ll join us in this historic effort!  To learn more about the 1950 Census, read our earlier blog post here. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the MCDL Genealogy Team at me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info. 

*Note: if you prefer to work using your mobile phone or tablet, you can download the FamilySearch Get Involved app from your app store, then follow the prompts. Joining the Indexing Group may only be possible from a web browser.