United States Census, 1940 - FamilySearch Historical Records/Known Issues

Known Issues
Note: The images for the United States Census, 1940 were captured digitally; therefore there is no microfilm that may be available for viewing.

Question #1: When I do a person search I get no results. I know where the person lived. Is there any way to find someone using an address? Answer #1: There are occasions when names were missed when the indexes and images were linked and placed online. If you know the address of the person you are searching for you might try this site by Steve Morse: http://stevemorse.org/census/unified.html which will help you find the Enumeration District. After you obtain the enumeration district, go to the 1940 United States Census and enter the information you can in the 1940 residence boxes. You can then move to that area and check the enumeration districts.

Question 2
Question 2: Why are some family members not linked together? Answer #2: This happens most often when family members’ names are split between two pages of the census record. It is always wise to search the preceding census page if a family member’s name is the first name listed on the page or to check the next page if the name is the last name listed on the census record page. In some cases, the enumerator did not have families listed together correctly or may have entered them in a different location on the page. If you see discrepancies, always look at the image closely to identify correct relationships.

There are other instances where the enumerator added additional children or family members on a completely different page where there is no family relationship, possibly because of additional family members encountered later, or additional room was needed. The indexer had no way of connecting these families. In most cases, the record details page is linked to the correct image and there is a note in the sidebar indicating where the correct family is located. These cases will all have to be reported and corrected on an individual basis.

There are also instances where pages were filmed out of order causing families to be linked incorrectly. Always check page numbers and surrounding images if you have questions.

Question 3
Question 3: I am unable to read the details of the image at Alabama &gt; Conecuh &gt; Election Precinct 13 &gt; 18-19 Election Precinct 13 Repton outside Repton Town, image number 16. Can I find out the details of this image? Answer 3: This entire page is duplicated on Image 18. Other times the text is unreadable.

Question 4
Question 4: The census records for Iowa, Wapello County are up-side-down and the Enumeration District is not linked to the correct image. Will this be corrected? Answer 4: The images were published as they were received from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). FamilySearch has been working with NARA to get the images corrected. A solution has been found but will take some time to implement.

Question 5
Question 5: When I do a person search for some names in Missouri in the St. Louis City Ward 21 I can’t find them. Are they available anywhere? Answer: #5: At the waypoint United States Census, 1940 &gt; Missouri &gt; St. Louis City &gt; St. Louis City, St. Louis, Ward 21 &gt; 96-501 St. Louis City Ward 21 (Tract 10B – part) image 23 of 34, the page was marked blank by the indexer and thus missed in the indexing so no record details page exists for the names on that sheet. The page has since been indexed and will be added with the next publication of the Missouri Census. The image is available for viewing at the above waypoint.

Question 6
Question 6: When I search for images in 1940 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Hudson County, Hoboken ED 9-141 thru 9-160, I get the wrong image. It also appears that these images are repeated in later pages. How can I get the correct images? Answer 6: The images in the 1940 U.S. Census collection at FamilySearch were published as they were received from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It appears that the first 393 images were overwritten and replaced with the images from the second half of the film, in reverse order; resulting in missing, mislinked and disordered images. FamilySearch will be working with NARA to get the images in correct order and to procure the missing images. A suggested workaround for disordered records is to browse the entire set of records to locate the correct image.

Question 7
Question 7: There are multiple entries for every name in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Are there any records missing? Answer 7: This error occurred when this part of the collection was placed online and will be corrected in the future. This problem does not appear to cause any of the records to be missing.

Question 8
Question 8: In the 1940 census for New York &gt; Kings &gt; New York City, Brooklyn, Assembly District 11 &gt; 24-1284, the even numbers for Bedford Avenue are missing. Also electoral 24-1946 is missing the address of 690 Gates Avenue. Where can I see these records? Answer 8: These records appear to have been missed in the original census.

Question 9
Question 9: Some images for this census are not available on FamilySearch. Will they be available in the future? Answer 9: Images for some districts and some pages were never delivered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). FamilySearch will be working with NARA to procure those images and publish them with the 1940 U.S. Census Collection online.


 * The images for Ohio, enumeration districts 71-1 to 71-4 are not available on FamilySearch.
 * The census for South Dakota, Walworth county, Selby City, goes from page 6A to 7A, and from household # 120 to # 136. John A Kuehl is on the bottom line of 6A, and a different family is on the top of 7A. Page 6B is missing.

Question 10
Question 10: Why in the 1940 census for Pennsylvania  > Schuylkill > Frackville Borough, Frackville,South Ward > 54-35 Frackville Borough South Ward bounded by (N) Oak; (E) borough limits; (S) borough limits; (W) Balliet, images 32-37/52 have household members indexed incorrectly?

Answer 10: In the 1940 census for Pennsylvania > Schuylkill > Frackville Borough, Frackville,South Ward > 54-35 Frackville Borough South Ward bounded by (N) Oak; (E) borough limits; (S) borough limits; (W) Balliet, images 32-37/52 have household members indexed incorrectly. Images need to be read using household numbers and not sheet numbers - the Enumerator has them out of order. Example: Household 312 on sheet 17B (Image 34) is continued on sheet 19A (image 37). DGS: 5456754.

If you encounter additional problems with this collection, feel free to report them at [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the following information:


 * If searching a specific collection: please include the name of the collection; include all search criteria used, including name, event, dates and places.
 * If browsing this collection: please include the full path you followed to where the problem occurred. The browse path is located above the Image viewer window. For example: United States Census, 1940 &gt; Iowa &gt; Wapello &gt; Center Township, Ottumwa &gt; 90-16 Center Township, Ot...W) Des Moines River, Vine &gt; Image 1 of 43
 * If you are reporting a technical issue: please include your operating system and browser version, such as Windows 7 and Internet Explorer.

Your assistance will help ensure that future revisions will be considered.

Return to the United States Census, 1940 - FamilySearch Historical Records article.

Return to the United States Census, 1940 collection at FamilySearch.org