A couple of weeks ago we started talking about census records and looked at the 1940 census. Today we’re continuing to look at census records and the focus is on the 1930 census.
The 1930 census was enumerated beginning 1 April 1930. Let’s take a look at an actual census record to see what kind of information can be extracted from this census. Last post we looked at my Grandpa Edward’s census listing. I haven’t located him in the 1930 census yet but I have a listing for my Great-Grandpa Edward (Grandpa Edward’s father) to use for our example:
Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. family listing on the 1930 U.S. Census
Edward B. Conwell is listed here with his wife, Zella M., and children, Milford R. and Frank R. As you see, listed below the Conwell family, also living with Grandpa Edward, is his son-in-law John Crouse, daughter and wife of John, Mildred and granddaughter Evelyn J. Breaking the record down into three parts will help us view the information a little easier:
Section #1 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. family listing on the 1930 U.S. Census
Columns #1-#4 contain information on the abode:
- Street, avenue, road, etc.
- House number (in cities or towns)
- Number of dwelling house in order of visitation
- Number of family (in order of visitation)
This is great information because I can take the house number and street name and see if that house is still standing to see where my family lived in 1930.
Column #5 is the name of each person whose place of abode on April 1, 1930, was in this family (surname first, then first name and middle initial if there is one) and column #6 is the relationship of the person to the head of the family:
- Conwell, Edward B. – head
- Conwell, Zella M. – wife
- Conwell, Milford R. – son
- Conwell, Frank R. – son
- Crouse, John – son-in-law
- Crouse, Mildred – daughter
- Crouse, Evelyn J. – grand daughter
Columns #7-#10 are home data:
- Home owned or rented
- Value of the home, if owned, or monthly rental, if rented
- Radio set
- Does this family live on a farm?
From this we can see that Edward Sr. owned their home and it was worth $2,000.00. I can’t tell for sure whether they owned a radio or not. The enumerator marked “R” in the columns next to other families who obviously owned radios, but there is an “X” next to Edward Sr.’s census listing so while I suspect they did own a radio, I can’t be certain. And further up the census listing, the enumerator indicated “No farms in this block”.
Columns #11-#15 are personal description data:
- Sex
- Color or race
- Age at last birthday
- Marital condition
- Age at first marriage
This is pretty self-explanatory information. Great information to get off this census is the age at last birthday because it can help pin down a birth date if you don’t already have that and age at first marriage because it can help you pin down a marriage date for the first marriage of the person listed. Keep in mind that if the spouse listed on the census listing isn’t the person’s first marriage this could cause a little confusion but it can also clue you in to when the first marriage occurred. It’s somewhat of a double-edged sword.
Columns #16-#17 are education information:
- Attended school or college any time since September 1, 1929
- Whether able to read or write
None of the family attended school that year and all but baby Evelyn were able to read and write, which says a lot about the family since many people still struggled to get a decent education in 1930. Many people had to stop school and go to work to help support their families, resulting in an incomplete education.
Moving to part #2 of the census record:
Section #2 Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. family on the 1930 U.S. Census
Columns #18-#20 are information on place of birth:
This is a gold mine of location information. The enumerator has taken the time to list each person’s birth location and the birth locations of their parents (as provided by the person providing the census information). As you can see, everyone was U.S. born and most were born in the Midwest in either Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois or Nebraska.
Column #21 and #21a-c are questions about the person’s native language:
- 21: Language spoken in home before coming to the United States
- a: (Code) State or MLT
- b: (Code) Country
- c: (Code) blank on the form
Columns #22-#23 are citizenship information:
- Year of immigration to the United States
- Naturalized or alien
By this time, this part of my family was all U.S. born so these columns didn’t apply.
Column #24 is whether the person is able to speak English or not. The entire family was able to speak English.
Moving on to part #3 of the census record:
Section #3 Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. family listing on the 1930 U.S. Census
Columns #25-#27 are occupation and industry information:
- Occupation (trade, profession, or particular kind of work, as spinner, salesman, riveter, etc.)
- Industry (industry or business, as cottonmill, dry goods store, shipyard, public school, etc.)
- Code
- Class or worker
Most of the family worked as laborers, but Zella was working as an operator for some type of factory, Milford was a sales clerk for a grocery store and Frank was working for a nursery. I can’t tell where John Crouse was a laborer at, it almost looks like he was a laborer for grading.
Columns #28-#29 are questions about employment:
- Yes or no (whether actually at work)
- Line number for unemployed
It seems Edward Sr. was unemployed at some point. Because he was unemployed, he has an additional line number associated with his census line. Unfortunately the FAQs about the 1930 Census indicate the unemployment schedules no longer exist, so any information on this schedule has been lost.
Columns #30-#31 are veteran information:
- Yes or no (whether a veteran of the U.S. military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition)
- What war or expedition
None of this family served as veterans.
Column #32 is “No. of farm schedule”. The farm schedule was a supplemental set of questions for farms and didn’t apply to Edward Sr. and his family.
The 1930 census can contain a wealth of information for genealogists. There are several ways to access the census records, from using Ancestry.com (if you don’t have a paid subscription to Ancestry, check out your local library or Family History Center for free usage opportunities) for indexed images to using some of the non-indexed sites and paging thru the census record pages one by one. I prefer the indexed version, however, going through page by page can wield treasures of its own. Additional family members have been discovered in this manner and it can also give you a picture of who was living around your ancestor.
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