1940 Census United States - I Don't Know Where My Ancestor Lived

I Don’t Know the Town or State Where my Ancestor Lived in 1940
To find your ancestor in the 1940 Census, you need to know where they lived in 1940.

Step 1 Create a Timeline
A timeline is a chronological list of events for a person, family, or location. Timelines are helpful in narrowing down where your ancestor may be living in 1940.


 * Write down on a blank piece of paper or a Blank Timeline major events in your ancestor's life in chronological order. Some events may include their:


 * birth
 * marriage
 * birth of each of their children
 * death


 * After each date and event on your timeline, write down the places you think the event took place.


 * From your completed timeline, determine the event closest to just before 1940. Search for your ancestor in that city or town.

If your Ancestor lived in a Town or a City, Locate an Address
Use the following records to locate an address for your ancestor:


 * City Directories

Step 1 Locate Your Ancestor in a City Directory
Your ancestor may be listed in a city directory. A city directory is an alphabetical listing of residents and their street addresses in a city or town.

City directories online:


 * Ancestry.com - ($)

City directories not online can be found at:


 * City Directories of the USA - This website has a clickable map of all known city directories and where they are housed. This is an ongoing project and is not complete.
 * Public Libraries - Contact the public library in your ancestors town or city to see if they have a city directory for 1940 or years close to that date (1939 or 1941). Contact information for Public Libraries in the United States.
 * University Libraries - Contact the University Library closest to your ancestor's town to see if they have a city directory for 1940 or years close to that date (1939 or 1941). Contact information for University Libraries in the United States.

More information about City Directories

Telephone Books - a substitute Some larger cities stopped producing city directories by 1940 and instead created telephone books. Unfortunately, only a portion of the residents had telephones.

Cities with 1940 telephone books:


 * Chicago, IL - located at the Newberry Library in Chicago
 * New York City, NY - free, images online
 * Philadelphia, PA - located at the Philadelphia Public Library

If there is no city directory available for the city or town you are searching, use a substitute source to locate an address.


 * Relatives. Ask older relatives where the person lived in 1940. Relatives may have old address books or letters with return addresses.


 * Earlier censuses. Find the person on the, or on a state, or on a church census as close to 1940 as possible. Take note of the street (if any), town, and county where he lived. If the 1930 Census Enumeration District (E.D.) is known, use this online converter to determine the 1940 Census E.D.


 * Vital Records. Addresses on birth, marriage, or death certificates from around 1940 for close-relatives including their children.


 * World War II Draft Registration. Street addresses were often included in the . Available for free on FamilySearch.org. Not all states are covered.


 * World War II Army Enlistment Records. These records also include street addresses for those that enlisted. Available on Ancestry.com ($)


 * World War I Draft Registration. Look for male close-relatives born between 1872 and 1900 on the WW1 Draft registration. Browse the images for free on  or use Ancestry.com's index online.  Registration cards show their address in 1917 or 1918. Men did not have to serve in the armed forces to appear on draft registration cards.


 * Obituaries. Search obituaries for clues about the residence of survivors or the deceased. Microfilms of newspapers with obituaries can be obtained via inter-library loan at college or public libraries. To learn the address of newspaper microfilm repositories in each state see the U.S. Newspapers Program on the Internet. Other newspaper columns may also include address information.


 * Tax lists or voting registers Use the Family History Library Catalog Place Search to find the state and/or county, and then look for the topic Taxation, or Voting Registers for the years around 1940.