The 1950 US census still isn’t completely indexed, but I have learned a new way to search that isn’t quite as cumbersome as going page-by-page blindly. This applies to Ancestry, so I’m not too sure if it is applicable to other hosting sites.
On Ancestry’s front page, on the right-side panel, you will see a box with a list of US censuses by date. The newest one is, of course, the 1950. Click on that to bring up the search page, but at the moment, just disregard most of the page. Instead, at the top, click on the hyperlink for “Explore Maps.”
This will bring you to a page that has a search box, where you can enter an street, town, or a specific address. This is where it’s very helpful to have an address for your relative!
Now the interactive map will bring up that address and the enumeration district. This is when you will need to begin to go page-by-page, but trust me, it’s much simpler when you have it narrowed down to one district. There aren’t too many pages per district, perhaps 10-20, so it can go very quickly.
Using this method, I found both sets of my grandparents this afternoon. Thankfully, I knew both of the street names, which quickly narrowed the search.
The census page below is for my maternal grandparents, Lawrence Wells and Vida Gard Wells.
They are still living at 667 Humphreys Ave, Los Angeles, the same house where Vida’s parents lived when Vida was newly married to Lawrence. I don’t know where Vida’s mother, my great-grandmother, Eva Kesterson Gard is living; perhaps with Vida’s sister, my Aunt Dola. I will need to research that.
Lawrence, 49, is the proprietor of a watch repair business, which at this time was in their home. After they moved to West Beverly Blvd. in Montebello, he opened a little shop next to their house. In the prior week, he reported that he had only worked eight hours. Vida is a school teacher, 54, who worked 25 hours the week prior to the census.
There isn’t too much new information here for me, except for the fact that Lawrence is finally reporting his age accurately!
Below is the 1950 census sheet for my paternal grandparents, Charles L. Keene, Sr., and Perpetue Bergeron Keene.
They are living at 5116 Longfellow Ave., Los Angeles, which is the house I remember from my childhood. Charles is 66, and Perpetue is 56. They are both working and are proprietors of a “retail lunch stand.” I would so much like to find out more about that! What did they serve? Hot or cold? What neighborhood? Or did the lunch stand move around like today’s food trucks? Is this where I get my love of food trucks from???
What I hadn’t known before this census is that my Aunt Betsy and Uncle Jake were living with Betsy’s parents, Charles and Perpetue. (Aunt Betsy (Elizabeth) was the third child and third girl for her parents. My father, Charles, was next to be born.) In 1950, Betsy was 33, born in Ohio, and worked as a dressmaker at a custom dress shop. Jake was 40, born in Tennessee, and worked as a bus driver.
Again, no a lot of new information, but I find it interesting regardless. It’s a little slice of life, a snapshot of sorts, or a time capsule, to give a clearer picture of my family.
Now, off to see where Great-grandma Gard was!
“Til next time.
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