The census forms (called “population schedules”) were printed worksheets that census takers filled out. The column names can provide helpful clues when trying to read a word. Some, for example, only allowed a few possible answers (e.g., “Yes” or “No”). Browse the image gallery below to see how understanding the question type can help you read the handwritten answer.
This is a blank “population schedule” form for the 1950 census. Browse the other images in this gallery to learn about the kinds of questions census takers asked in 1950.
A simple “yes” or “no” answer satisfied many census questions. Columns 4 and 5, for example, asked if the house was on a farm (or ranch) and if it was on more than three acres of land.
Some questions involved categories. The census taker would have a limited number of choices to fill in the box for each person. In many cases, they provided an abbreviation (e.g., “M” for “Male” or “F” for “Female”) rather than spell out the full word.
In some cases, the census form would not actually list the options because there were too many—such as with the state or foreign country where a person was born. The tricky thing to remember here is that the names and even the existence of countries have changed over time.
Some questions expected a numerical answer. This question, for example, asked how many hours the person had worked in the previous week. Here you would expect to see numbers rather than words or letters.
Source: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1950. “Form P1, 1950 Census of Population and Housing.” Available at the National Archives.
When you look at the census online, you are not seeing a scan of the original image. Rather, you are viewing scans of microfilm reels, which offer less visual clarity.
What is it? Microfilm is a technology that preserves scaled-down reproductions of documents. You feed the reel or slide into a special machine, which projects light through the film to magnify the image.
Photograph of a roll of microfilm at the National Archives featured in the 2004 exhibition The National Archives: A Pioneer in Microfilm. (Google Arts & Culture)
If you’re having trouble reading the column header: These National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) webpages for the 1930, 1940, and 1950 censuses provide typed versions of the questions and categories. They are useful to consult if you cannot read the column header on the population schedule.
Library patron using a microfilm machine.
We are researching a Veteran named Millie in the 1950 census. Use the image below to answer the following questions. Millie appears in row 19.
Millie appears in row 19 and her husband Warren in row 18. 1950 US Census Population Schedule for Wake, North Carolina. Enumeration District 105-83, Sheet 9.