The topic for Week 34 of Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was “Non-Population Schedules.”
“The counting of people in the census which we use to locate families is called the Population Schedule. Additional schedules were used to identify and quantify resources and needs. These schedules are called Non-Population schedules.”[1]
If I was blogging about my ancestors I would have written about some of the sources I’ve used to help me put flesh on the bones of their stories. But – this year – I’m focusing on my generation. So, I found it tough to relate to this prompt. (Hence the procrastination. Truthfully, I’ve been SUPER busy!)
The next US Census will be released in 2022. That will be the 1950 Census. For privacy reasons, there is a 72 year wait before the information is released to the public. Which means the first federal census in which I will appear will be released in 2032. I will be listed as being 5 years old on the 1960 census. Hopefully, I will still be here to view my listing. I’ll only be 77 – so fingers crossed!
Still struggling to relate to the Week 34 topic, it occurred to me that Non-population schedules provide the genealogist with information not found on the census such as agricultural, business, social and manufacturing statistics. Information that may help the genealogist go beyond the BMD (birth, marriage, death) vital records. That made me wonder – where might my descendants locate information about me, besides the census and vital records?
Some sources are obvious – public information listings such as phone books and city directories. Newspaper databases (especially 1997 – remember the hamster that saved us from a fire?) will be a great place to learn about me and my family. Those lovely (now musty smelling) high school yearbooks might be useful (and will provide a good dose of laughter- some of those pictures!!)
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| 1971 Hamden High Student Council |
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| 1972 Senior picture Full disclosure: I really thought I WAS 4'10" at the time |
Of course, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram posts will assist my descendants in recreating the minutia of my life. (Just tonight I posted a picture of our dinner – FASCINATING stuff!) Maybe they will find this family history blog and my blog dedicated to the dollhouse miniatures hobby I happily shared with my mom for so many years.
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| http://dorettecreations.blogspot.com/ |
The Hamden town offices might provide a glimpse into my financial status, my cars and my residence. (Really gotta pay those car taxes…) My descendants might wonder why I registered as an Independent rather than affiliate with a political party. Maybe I’ll divulge that in a future post. It’s possible there will be records related to my 35+ years in education. I “think” I have a LinkedIn account too.
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| This book will SOON be ready to publish! |
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| I worked with my sister-in-law to create this updated edition of the family history book originally written by my father-in-law. |
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| We are currently working on a 2nd Edition!! |
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| Super proud of this book! Created using two years of letters written home by my mom during her stay in Japan. |
If I keep thinking about it, I’m sure I could come up with many more sources of information about my life.
How can this help you? If you are a family historian struggling to locate information about your ancestors, think BEYOND the census. (Exactly Amy’s point in suggesting the Non-population schedules!) Thomas MacEntee of Abundant Genealogy created a thorough checklist of possible sources which may be helpful.
If you’re not into family history – keep this in mind: It’s 2018!!! Unless you have been living under a rock (or extremely diligent in staying off the grid) your life is more than likely out there in cyberspace for all to see. Be smart about what you post. Like speaking – once you say it (post it) you can’t take it back. Unlike speaking – it’s out in cyberspace FOREVER!
You have given your family so many valuable books for learning about ancestors' lives! I'm very impressed. Not to mention your other creative endeavors!
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