I used to love the MySpace survey question,
"Is there something you're looking forward to?"
It would always cause me to look ahead and plan something fun if there wasn't something I was looking forward to. The thing that I've most been chomping at the bit about is the release of the 1940 Census! hahaha
Now settle down kids, I know that some of you are so excited you could wet your britches...
but seriously I've been very excited about it!
There's what's called a 72 year rule on censuses... Due to privacy each census remains "put away" in the National Archives until 72 years after it was taken. Last Monday at Midnight, the 1940 census was released and a huge crew of people began data entry to get it online of somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.something millions records (I think it was) ...
Within those records lie information and clues to help me further the family search I have been on since the late 90s. I'm not adopted or anything ... though when I'm out at my folks' house on my soap box waving my hippie flowers in the air, I sometimes wonder :^) But I am interested in history and I become completely enthralled when connecting that to ancestors...
Genealogy is kind of becoming "hot" now ... and I'm super excited about that ...
but I was doing genealogy when genealogy wasn't cool.
I was the 18 or 19 year old kid sitting in the floor of the basement of the Johnson County Library absolutely delighted and blissfully happy in the dank room, consumed by the smell of must and dust as I learned about my great-great-great-great-grandpa, Moses Comer and the journey that he and his brother Nathaniel took along the river on a flatbed boat in the mid 1800s... carrying with them animals, family, household goods and all that was needed to start a new life in Southern Illinois. The family would eventually farms acres and acres, one of the brothers would open a dry goods store and the family would remain on the Southern edge of Johnson County/Northern edge of Massac County until migrating into the city of Metropolis in the early 1900s.
I remember the day I approached a librarian asking where I could see the 1940 Census ...
It was in the late 90s and I was on the latter end of my teens ...
a dorky, gangley little child ... carrying around a bit tote bag full of death records and scribbled notes ...
She told me it hadn't yet been released ... I, of course asked when it would be released....
She explained to me the "72 year rule" and after scribbling on a paper chuckled and said, "2012..."
"2012, what? That's when it'll be released?!?!!", I was absolutely blown away .. and I began to laugh ... "That's terrible ... that's a really long time... I wonder if I'll even remember I was doing the family tree then..."
Fast forward doggone near 20 years... to a Tuesday morning ... in my late 30's ... as I sipped my java and chain smoked ... on my way to Ancestry.com
Illinois ... "in progress"
Throughout the day, I would periodically pause my work and check the status...
...later in the day...
Cook county is posted ... that was probably the biggest one ...
Around 6 p.m. I got a call from a friend who'd just finished a golf game in Metropolis
and wanted to take a drive ... "I think I can do that ... hang on ...", I said.
Ancestry.com ....
Illinois ....
"Lasalle" ....
"Yeah, I'm good for a short drive and I could use a break ... I'll watch for you to pull up..."
My friend and I went for a drive and I rattled about the upcoming release of Massac County....
About an hour later I burst through my front door, dropped everything in the floor, opened my laptop and hit refresh .... now ... If you know me in "real life", you've heard me talk about how amazing those moments are when we "come full circle" on something...
I can't even express to you the way my heart was racing when I was finally able to select Massac County and get that pull down list of populated places...
My noggin spun .... I thought of that little old librarian I'd laughed with 19 or so years ago ...
I thought, little did I know then that if you get genealogy in your system; you likely won't get it out. You'll take hiatuses and you'll get on a big run and then maybe burn out a little bit and not mess with it for a few months or years ... but you never quit all together..
I thought of the meek little teenage girl who used to sneak away to be a dweeb ... and the soooo "unmeek" woman she became who doesn't give a rats happy fanny who thinks who's a dweeb ... and is happy to be a dweeb even if it hair-lips every cow in Texas!
Anywho, I don't think I have to tell you that nearly every time I ceased work that week ... even for a quick ciggy, I had that census waiting on my laptop at my last "point of scanning". I've found almost all of my ancestors, though I haven't entered all of the info yet. I've seen a SLEW of y'all's (yes, that was a double contraction) ancestors!
I looked through the Benton section (BENTON ELECTION PRECINCT, ROUND KNOB (PART)) ....and it was like playing in the "Romper Room mirror" ... I saw Beau's grandma Blanche as a 24 year old - she and her hubby, Wilbur were living with his dad, Joe and they were farmers.
I saw some "Meinders" and I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that one of the kids in that household was little old Mr. Meinders who used to sell Jolly Rancher Watermelon sticks and candy of all kinds to the "Jefferson School kids" as they went to and from school.
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| I took this picture of the sunset behind the Round Knob Store a mere 22 or so years after graduating from Jefferson School. There has never been a time that I drove by that store and didn't recall the smell the old wooden floorboards scattered with the dust, dirt and mud from the boots of farmers, the lunch counter in the back and the area in front of the lunch counter where the old farmers congregated and the feeling of reaching down into large jars of candy to pick "the right" one... ... it was an incredible era ... |
I saw Jennifer's (Gizmo) :) grandpa Edwin as a 28 year old, living and farming on the land of his dad, John...
As you might imagine if you're familiar with the area ... I saw more Kortes, Bremers, Fosses, Rottmans and Verbargs than I could keep track of. That link above will take you there and I encourage you to go explore if you're familiar with that neck of the woods.
NOW ... Back to 'those Comers' ... I need to wrap it up and make my point :)
I can't recall the exact year of their migration from Dickson County, Tennessee to Johnson County, Illinois, but I think it was the late 1850s. I DO know that it was before the Civil War because of the information on Leroy's (son of Moses) draft card, so they definitely moved to this area PRE-1861.
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| Leroy Comer 1843 (TN) -1922 (IL) My Great-Great-Great Grandpa For those of you who know the more recent Comer Line, this is the grandpa of great-grandpa, Lee Comer (1908-1975) (the logger who wrestled the bear) |
If you would've asked me 20 years ago when the Civil War began, I wouldn't have known because I would've had nothing to "relate" it to. I'm sure I had to memorize it and regurgitate it at some point to pass a test, but I wouldn't have "really known"....
Now I'm to my point .....
I would like to start a movement for
a new measure to be implemented into the education system...
Hear me out ... I know I'm pretty liberal and you are likely very frightened right now ....
hahaha, please just take a deep breath and keep reading,
this isn't going to be nearly as shocking of an idea as you think ... in fact, I kind of think it's brilliant :) ....
I think that as a student begins the 8th grade, the history curriculum should include tracing their family tree.
I think the 8th grade year should consist of gathering information on their parents and grandparents through family interviews and then as 9th grade or "Freshman Year" begins, they should be allowed to access Ancestry.com and other genealogy data bases to continue their search. This could also result in field trips to libraries and records offices...
I think this is something that should be implemented to work alongside the current history curriculum from 7th - 12th grades. One big plus would obviously be that the students would actually "learn" the history.. they would have something to attach it to and connect it with. Another wonderful result of this program would be that our currently (mostly) spoiled and completely oblivious youth would get to see the struggles of generations before them. I could go on for days about the benefits of this program... but I've got a lot of stuff to do today ....
I do encourage you to ponder that concept and share it with others ... AND I encourage you to plan at least ONE night when the whole family will sit down and use technology for good as they check out the census and learn about yesteryear...
You'll first go to the U.S. Enumeration District Maps and Descriptions for 1940 to find the location your family was living in in 1940. The census will be search-able within months, but for now you have to know an address (or at least a vicinity) to avoid looking through the whoooooooole thing... You can get that information in old city directories at your local library or you can call the oldest person in the family and ask them what street "so and so" lived on, then check the map to get in the neighborhood...
After you know their location, go to 1940 United States Federal Census (Beta)
to find the census pages for their neighborhood...
I assure you this is some of the most rewarding time you can spend ...
and what a great family project to ponder!!
Also ... if anyone at Ancestry.com happens to be reading along ...
it would behoove you to implement a program in which "Student ID"s can log in at no charge.
You would essentially be "hooking" them on a hobby and passion that they'll carry with them for their entire life ... thus, you'll have a grand majority of them who will then purchase their subscription when they no longer have a student ID.... and Bob's your Uncle ...
your customer base increases every year, just after college graduation....
You're welcome ....
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