1950 US Census Community Project
Frequently Asked Questions
The 1950 US Federal Census is here! Join us in a nationwide community effort to help make those images searchable for free on FamilySearch.org. Together, we are reviewing and improving an automated index, created by Ancestry using handwriting recognition technology.
How will volunteers help create the index for the 1950 US Census?
Volunteers will review and improve the automated index created by Ancestry, making sure it’s accurate and complete. There are three ways to review the index.
Name Review
This activity presents you with a single name at a time to review. If the name matches what is on the image, click Match. If it doesn't, click Edit and fix the spelling to match the name on the image. If you're not sure, click Unsure.
This activity is available in the Get Involved section of FamilySearch.org or in the new Get Involved mobile app (available for Apple iOS or Android).
Family Review
Family Review is the main activity for reviewing the census. You will be shown a head of household and be instructed to mark who is in the household.
With a focus on that household, you will then compare each field on the image to the index to verify that the image and index match. If the computer got the index wrong, you will correct the index.
Header Review
In this activity, you will review the information at the top of the census page and compare it to the index below, again fixing what doesn’t match.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I go to help?
Visit the 1950 US Census Community Project page to get started. The map will display which states have available review activities you can help with.
How can I know when a state I want to help with is launched?
Watch your email, or visit the updates section of the project details page.
Is it true that we’re not using the FamilySearch indexing program to review the index?
That is correct. We have created a new review tool that will allow us to be able to review every field on the form by family or household.
What is the difference between what NARA is doing and what FamilySearch and Ancestry are doing?
NARA released a name-only index on April 1. They are asking for volunteers to help improve this name index. You can learn more about this at https://archives.gov/1950census.
Ancestry’s handwriting recognition technology will create a comprehensive index of the census records, including all of the available fields. The 1950 US Census Community Project hosted on FamilySearch will enable volunteers to help review and improve this comprehensive index. This is a separate project from the NARA project.
Ancestry’s handwriting recognition technology will create a comprehensive index of the census records, including all of the available fields. The 1950 US Census Community Project hosted on FamilySearch will enable volunteers to help review and improve this comprehensive index. This is a separate project from the NARA project.
Will the work I do be added to my indexing statistics?
“Review and improve” is a different activity and will be tracked differently. You will be able to see how much you do, specific to this activity. All of your volunteer statistics will soon be brought together in one place.
Does the introduction of this review process mean traditional indexing is going away?
Not anytime soon! Many projects require traditional indexing. Additionally, handwriting recognition still has limitations and cannot take the place of what can be done through human indexing today.
Where can I learn more about the initial 1950 census release?
Check out these RootsTech videos, or visit https://www.archives.gov/1950census.
I have more questions! Where do I go to ask more questions about the census project?
Visit our FamilySearch Community 1950 Category, or join the discussions on the 1950 US Community Project Facebook group.
Can I review a specific county or state?
For now, you can review a specific state along with a surname you would like to find. They are working on the ability to also be able to search by County as well.
Can I review an entire page?
When reviewing, after you’ve completed a family, you can choose to go to the next family on the same page. If any have already been reviewed, it will skip those families.
Where do I go for instructions on how to review the index?
Click on the ? icon at the top of the screen for links to articles such as:
What can I do today? When will the project be launched?
- Name Review is now available through Get Involved, both in the mobile app and the website.
- Family Review will soon be available through the same Get Involved website.
- A few days later, the Header Review will also be available in the same place.
Additionally, all of the 1950 census images from NARA have been loaded and you can browse them through familysearch.org/1950census.
How will I know when the state I want to review is available?
The states are being released a few at a time over the course of the first few weeks in April. They are being released in approximately this order, as they are processed, but the list might change slightly over time. Name Review will generally be available before Family Review. Watch the Updates page and your email to know when states are being released.
- Nevada
- Utah
- Oregon
- Arizona
- Florida
- Idaho
- Louisiana
- California
- Wyoming
- Vermont
- Delaware
- New Hampshire
- New York
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Indiana
- Virginia
- Ohio
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Arkansas
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
- Illinois
- North Carolina
- Mississippi
- Connecticut
- Colorado
- Missouri
- Minnesota
- Maine
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Michigan
- Massachusetts
- Montana
- Iowa
- West Virginia
- Georgia
- Alabama
- District of Columbia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- North Dakota
- Kansas
- Nebraska
What happened on April 1st?
On April 1st, NARA launched a 1950 census website that included a basic name and location search experience based on the automated OCR name index. You are able to search that name index and edit and make corrections to it.
NARA also released the census images for consumption by other organizations, such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and others. You can now browse the images on these websites.
Additionally, on April 1st, Ancestry began the process of creating the computerized index that they are now providing to FamilySearch for this volunteer project.
NARA also released the census images for consumption by other organizations, such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and others. You can now browse the images on these websites.
Additionally, on April 1st, Ancestry began the process of creating the computerized index that they are now providing to FamilySearch for this volunteer project.
What are you doing about Alaska and Hawaii and other US Territories?
All of the US Territories (including Alaska and Hawaii) and Indian Population schedules were done on different forms and will not go through the same review process. They will be published directly to Search, and then will be able to be reviewed and edited directly there.
Where can I learn more?
Watch your email! Or keep an eye on familysearch.org/1950census for more frequent updates.
Can my society or organization help as a group?
Yes! Go to https://www.familysearch.org/en/info/1950project to register your organization. Then you can create a 1950 group on FamilySearch that provides two benefits - it allows you to track the work you do together, and it gives you access to the FamilySearch Messaging system, a simple group chat feature on FamilySearch.
To create the group, follow these instructions:
There are two important things members will want to be aware of:
Why do groups work this way? The new group functionality for the 1950 US Census project uses the group functionality from the "Family Groups" system on FamilySearch, which was originally created to let a small family group work together. While some of these features may not be ideal in the context of larger groups, this group functionality is vital to allow groups to track the work they do together.
To create the group, follow these instructions:
- Go to https://www.familysearch.org/groups/family and click Create Group.
- Complete the information required.
- Once created, you can invite others to join your group. Click to view the group, click Invite Member, then copy the URL to send an invitation to your group members.
- Approve each member as they join.
There are two important things members will want to be aware of:
- The messaging system is handy, but simple. For example, you can't share images without adding them to your Memories on FamilySearch. Of course, you could do that and delete them later if you wanted.
- All group members will get an email when other group members join. If you have a large group, that might not be ideal for group members, so you might want to let them know how to turn them off (though Admins will get the emails either way). You can share these steps with them:
"You can turn off group email notifications in your FamilySearch Settings - click on your name, then click Settings, then click Notifications. Turn off the Family Groups option."
Why do groups work this way? The new group functionality for the 1950 US Census project uses the group functionality from the "Family Groups" system on FamilySearch, which was originally created to let a small family group work together. While some of these features may not be ideal in the context of larger groups, this group functionality is vital to allow groups to track the work they do together.
How do I invite members to join the group?
- From the Groups page, click View Group, then click Invite Member.
- Copy the Link and send it in an email to your group members.
There are two important things members will want to be aware of:
- The messaging system is handy, but simple. For example, you can't share images without adding them to your Memories on FamilySearch. Of course, you could do that and delete them later if you wanted.
- All group members will get an email when other group members join. If you have a large group, that might not be ideal for group members, so you might want to let them know how to turn them off (though Admins will get the emails either way). You can share these steps with them:
"You can turn off group email notifications in your FamilySearch Settings - click on your name, then click Settings, then click Notifications. Turn off the Family Groups option."
Why do groups work this way? The new group functionality for the 1950 US Census project uses the group functionality from the "Family Groups" system on FamilySearch, which was originally created to let a small family group work together. While some of these features may not be ideal in the context of larger groups, this group functionality is vital to allow groups to track the work they do together.
Can my organization adopt and review a specific location?
You can focus on a specific location to review. You won’t be able to reserve the location for just your society or group. Each family will be reviewed on a first-come basis.
Why would my society or organization want to be involved in the 1950 US Census project?
There are a number of reasons why—for one, the more societies and the more people involved, the faster the index will be published! Additionally, it’s been shown that working together towards a common cause helps people develop stronger bonds with the organization they are helping. By working with you, not just with FamilySearch, it helps them find more value in their association with your organization. Finally, this gives your society members a valuable opportunity to be connect after two years of being separated by COVID. Although the actual work can be a solo activity, as we come together in person or over zoom to work on this together, as we set goals to accomplish and ask each other for help reading the handwriting, we will all benefit from the connection.
Our group (society, ward, stake, etc.) already has an indexing group, do we need a group in this new system too?
Yes, if you would like to track your work on the 1950 project together during the project, you will need to create a group in the Family Groups system. These stats will be added to the group indexing reports at some point in the future, but likely not during the project.
Will these stats be added to our indexing group reports?
Eventually, they will appear with the indexing statistics as a new type of contribution activity.
How does my organization review as a group?
You can participate and track your efforts as a group by following these instructions:
- Go to https://www.familysearch.org/groups/family and click Create Group.
- Complete the information required.
- Once created, you can invite others to join your group. Click to view the group and copy the URL to send an invitation to your group members.
- Approve each member as they join.
Will the index and images be published on FamilySearch or Ancestry?
Both! After a state has been fully reviewed by FamilySearch volunteers, the index will be provided back to Ancestry, and both websites will publish the full index and images.
When will I be able to search the completed index by name?
That depends on how many people join the project to review and improve the index! We anticipate some states will be available before the end of April. This improved index will be published over time, state by state, as each state is completed.
If someone was serving overseas in the military, will they be included?
Unfortunately, the census records listing the individuals serving overseas are no longer available.
If the US Territories aren’t included in the project, will they still be published?
Yes! They will go straight to publication. You can still make edits to the index if you find errors there.
Additional 1950 US Census Resources
Please click on the tiles below to access additional resources.
New processes and innovations will change how the index is created and reviewed.