Coupled with the success of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Finding Your Roots” television series, genealogy and family history has never been as popular or as mainstream as it is today.Īs that smiling face behind the reference desk that assists researchers in utilizing the resources, online tools, and various finding aids to locate their ancestors, I’m particularly interested in the first-day experience from the librarian’s perspective. I’m not one to get caught up in the first-day mania, but I do get excited with all of the media attention the day brings to our field of study. Having been a local history and genealogy librarian for nearly a dozen years, I’ve now experienced “Census Release Day” on two occasions as a professional, first with the 1930 and now with the 1940. Given Winifred’s name gap in the 1930 census, I’m not entirely surprised there is no designated “x” with the 1940 record.
That important mark can give the researcher an idea about the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the information. They all still live at the same address on North Street in Kalamazoo, although Winifred is now identified by name a pleasant change from the 1930 record! One clue not found, however, is the “x” next to the name showing which family member provided the information to the enumerator. Moving forward to 1940, we find that not much has changed for the Piotrowski’s. Is there a story there? Did a neighbor provide the information? Perhaps one of the children? Did Stanley or Winifred, but then forget to give her name? Why is the name not listed? I will likely never know. The real puzzler about this 1930 census page is that all of the other family data is accurate, including date of immigration and birthplace, but for whatever reason, the enumerator did not include Winifred’s name. This example illustrates that despite all the technological advances made in family history over the years, the records will only ever be as good as the information found in them. Had I been searching for just Winifred, I would not have had much luck, to say the least. What is it? Why is it not listed? Her birth name is Wladyslawa (which may explain the enumerator’s reluctance to include it), but the Americanized name was Winifred, a much less challenging exercise. Several things jump out with this example, but the most obvious is Stanley’s wife’s name. Here is the family in the 1930 Census:ġ930 Census, MI, Kalamazoo Co., Kalamazoo, ED-39-15, p. Having moved to the city sometime in 1920 or 1921, Stanley worked as a baker and grocer and also became a leading member of the local lodge of the Polish National Alliance. In 1930, Stanley and his wife lived on North Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan with their two children, Stella and Francis. Not only did he lead an interesting life, but his genealogical paper trail is fascinating and provides a number of fantastic and instructional examples comparing the Piotrowski’s of 1930 with the family of 1940 is one of those. When I give programs on various genealogy subjects, I almost always use examples of Stanley Piotrowski, my great-grandfather.
Indeed, by the next census in 1950, each set of grandparents will have families of their own, extending the family tree to the next generation. In my family narrative, the 1940 census offers a glimpse into the dynamics of each of my grandparents’ lives, at an important threshold right before their marriages and the outbreak of World War II. Like many of us, I dove right in last week with the release of the 1940 Census, and was excited to quickly find all four of my grandparents: two in Chicago, one in East Chicago, Indiana, and one in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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