The 1930 U.S. Census Record in Genealogy: A Closer Look

Genealogy Records: A Closer Look at the 1930 U.S. Census in Genealogy Research

The 1930 U.S. Census Record in Genealogy: A Closer Look 
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Did you know that when it comes to genealogy research, census records can give you the most details about a person and their family than any other record? These are fantastic genealogy records that can give you a snapshot of how your ancestors were living at a particular time. After starting with what you know now, the first step in genealogy research, the census records are the best starting point in your next step of research. They offer a tremendous amount of information and details that will start you off, while leading you to many of your next steps. Not only can you find the standard information on your ancestor and their descendants like their name, age, birthplace, and residence; you can find so much more! Depending on the census record, you can also find their address, their occupation, their parents’ birthplaces, their citizenship status, their year of immigration, their marriage info, their military service info, how many children they have, others living in the household and their info, the value of their home and personal belongings, and more!

Continue with me on the 1930 Census in this series that takes a closer look at the 1850 to 1950 U.S. Federal Census Records.

The 1930 U.S. Census: This was the ninth U.S. Census that listed EVERY household member by name and had detailed categories, and once again had the enumeration season and date changed. To date, it was the second census having a spring enumeration (the first was the 1910 Census), and it was the first to be enumerated starting on April 1st; this date stuck for all the censuses thereafter. The 1930 U.S. Census would also be the last of the standard censuses that we had come to know; moving forward, there would no longer be questions for veterans, languages spoken, and others, so this was the last census to get any of those clues from.  This census introduced the new details of whether you had a radio set (a luxury item) to help study the interest in consumerism and mass communication, age at first marriage, home value or rental amount, and what war they were in if they were a veteran.

Front of 1930 U.S. Census Form, Courtesy of the National Archives Website

Back of 1920 U.S. Census Form, Courtesy of the National Archives Website

This census record had many of the same categories and details that were seen in the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920 censuses such as including ALL household members’ names; their ages, sex, color, and place of birth; occupation information; whether any of the household members attended school or were married; and literacy information, but with a few changes and additions. There were name changes to some of the categories, a few new details added to some of the categories, and a few details taken out. I am not including the 1890 census information that I previously spoke about, as we didn’t get to use it. 😉

Some of the new categories or changed/combined categories for this census, compared to the 1920 Census, were “Home Data”, “Place of Birth”, “Mother Tongue of Foreign Born”, “Employment” and “Veterans”.
 
New Categories:

• Home Data: Took one detail from previous “Tenure” category (“Home Owned or Rented”) and added 3 new details (“Value of Home or Monthly Rental Amount”, “Radio Set”, and if family lives on a farm)
• Place of Birth: Took the place of birth details for the person and their parents from the previous “Nativity and Mother Tongue” category and added specifications such as making sure to specify the location of their birth to the area where it was situated at the time of the census, distinguishing between Canada-French and Canada-English, and distinguishing between Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
• Mother Tongue/Native Language of Foreign Born: Took just the household person’s native language, not their parents, from the previous “Nativity and Mother Tongue” category.
• Employment 
• Veterans 

Category Name Changes:

• Home Data: As mentioned above, the previous “Tenure” was changed to “Home Data”, while keeping one detail, leaving one off, and adding 3 new details
• Citizenship, etc.: Just a slight name change from the previous “Citizenship” category
• Occupation and Industry: Just a slight name change from the previous “Occupation” category
• Place of Birth: As mentioned above, took the place of birth details for the person and their parents from the previous “Nativity and Mother Tongue” category.

New Details:

• Radio Set
• Value of Home or Rental Amount (new "Home Data" category)
• If Live on Farm (new "Home Data" category)
• Age at First Marriage ("Personal Description" category)
• Whether a Veteran of U.S. Military or Naval Forces ("Veterans" category)
• What War or Expedition? ("Veterans" category)
• Now included the specification of attended college in the attended school within the year detail ("Education" category)
• Whether actually at Work Yesterday (new "Employment" category)

Details that Moved to another Category:

• Mother Tongue of Foreign Born: Moved to its own category

• Whether Able to Speak English (Previous stand-alone detail now added to "Citizenship" category)

Details Eliminated:

• If Home Owned, Free or Mortgaged
• Mother Tongue of Foreign-Born Parents

• Year of Naturalization, if naturalized

Note: A Census of Unemployment was added to this the following year, due to the Great Depression
 
Research Tips: This census can help you determine if there was a previous marriage for your ancestor by looking at the new detail of “Age at First Marriage”, to find out if any household members received a higher education, to get a feel for their income, to see how the great depression may have affected your ancestors and their family, to help you look for their military records knowing which war they fought in, and so much more! Also, don’t forget to be careful with the place of birth for your ancestors, with the new “give country in which birthplace is now situated” in the “Place of Birth” category; check to see what the area was around the time of their birth. 😉


Remember: Enumerators were not required to get the spelling of names; wrote down the information given to them without any proof; and made their own determination of race based on their own judgement. 😉

As previously mentioned, depending on where and by whom the census was taken, I usually don’t find the census filled out consistently, and some of the categories are underreported, but if they are, then you have a lot of details to help you in your research! EVERY detail/clue helps in genealogy! 😉
 
Find my other posts on the U.S. Census records below, and under the Genealogy Records category!
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The 1950 U.S. Census: A Post War Snapshot into the Lives of Our Ancestors!
The 1940 U.S. Census Record in Genealogy: Reflecting on the Great Depression
The 1920 U.S. Census Record in Genealogy: A Closer Look
The 1910 U.S. Census Record in Genealogy: A Closer Look
A Closer Look at the 1900 U.S. Census in Genealogy Research
The 1890 U.S. Census: A Tragic and Sad Loss!
The 1880 U.S. Census: A Closer Look at the Even Better Census!
The 1870 U.S. Census: A Closer Look
The 1860 U.S. Census: A Closer Look
The 1850 U.S. Census: One of the Golden Genealogy Records


Check out more information about the U.S. Census on the United States Census Bureau website and the National Archives and Records Administration website!

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