Ancestry updated their 1940 U.S. Federal Census database this week. With what, I don't know. They occasionally update census records but don't detail what's new. However I will still enjoy running my family's names through to see new additions--if any. Send me your relatives' names/locations too and I'll share their census pages (privately).
Name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1940 would be in this household
Their Relation to Head of House
Color or race
Age at last birthday and birth place
Citizenship
Residence location on April 1, 1935--five years earlier
Marital Status
Occupation
Highest Grade Completed in H.S. or college
House Number
Weeks Worked in 1939
Resident on farm in 1935?
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented (yes, people replied to this nosiness)
Income From Other Sources?
Respondent
As always, when looking at census records, I can't help but wonder how honest or forthcoming people were when giving answers to census enumerators. Were they told their info would remain private? Did cautious people not report their full income or value of property? Mistakes are frequently found, and you can't be certain if those were the answers given or if the error occurred later when records were transcribed. For example, divorced people frequently identified their marital status as "widowed" rather than divorced.
A random sample of about five percent of the population was also asked:
Birthplace of parentsNative language
Veteran status (including widow or minor child of a vet)
Social Security details
Marriage info for women (married more than once, age at first marriage, number of children)
ANCESTRY also reports:
Interesting Facts
The top five foreign countries listed as a birthplace were Italy, Germany, Russia, Poland, and England.
New York was the most commonly listed birth state.
The average household size enumerated in the 1940 census was 3.7 people.
Two women tied for the oldest person in the census: both Mary Dilworth of Oxford, Mississippi, and Cándido Vega Y Torres of Guayama, Puerto Rico, listed their ages as 119.
Mary and John were the most common given names appearing in the 1940 census.
The top five surnames in the 1940 census were Smith, Johnson, Brown, Williams, and Jones.
More than 850,000 people reported living in hotels or similar housing.
SOURCE: Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.