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The 1950 U.S. Census and Military Research

Jenny Ashcraft1216 mins

On April 1, 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration will release the 1950 U.S. Census to the public. These records may provide new insights into the 16 million American men and women who fought during WWII. More than 400,000 Americans died during the war. As a result, many will find ancestors enumerated in the 1940 U.S. Census but no longer living in 1950.

A family takes part in the 1950 Census

Soldiers returning from WWII arrived home to sweeping new legislation known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, or G.I. Bill. The G.I. Bill provided benefits to returning veterans, including money for education, job training, and low-interest home loans. As a result, almost half of college admissions in 1947 were veterans. With so many veterans attending college, it’s important to note that in the 1950 U.S. Census, college students were enumerated where they attended school and not where their family was living.

Returning soldiers also started families, ushering in the “baby boom.” The 1950 U.S. Census will show veterans all over the country listed as homeowners. Many took advantage of the low-interest loans to purchase homes, and new neighborhoods of mass-produced subdivisions sprang up all over the country. By 1950, veterans had become the largest single group of homeowners and helped usher in an era of middle-class prosperity.

Some other veteran-related things to watch for in the 1950 U.S. Census records are:

  • The 1940 standard census forms had lines for 40 persons. In 1950, this number was reduced to 30 lines, allowing enumerators space to take notes on additional sample questions answered by every fifth person. Men on these “sample” lines were asked if they served in the military during WWI or WWII or any other service, including the present.
  • Military and civilian personnel living at Canton, Johnston, Midway, and Wake Islands were enumerated and will be included in the 1950 U.S. Census release records.
  • Enumerators were instructed not to enumerate Americans, including soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who worked for the United States Government while living abroad in 1950. They only enumerated those living in their enumeration district.
  • The names and rank of a few U.S. military personnel overseas are included in correspondence in Binder 36-C, Members of Armed Forces and U.S. Citizens Abroad, available here from the National Archives.
  • Officers and crews of U.S. flagged vessels are likely found in an enumeration district in either the vessel’s home port or where the vessel was on April 1, 1950 (the official census day).
  • Those serving in the Coast Guard, including vessels, lighthouses, and other stations of various kinds, were enumerated. Often the lighthouse or vessel was its own enumeration district. Commanding officers of Coast Guard vessels received forms for each of their crew. If someone was away on leave or absent on temporary duty, their commanding officer filled out the form as much as possible. USCG uniformed and civilian personnel living in “barrack-type” quarters received a Form P2, Individual Census Report, which they filled out. A regular census enumerator visited USCG personnel who lived either on-base or off-base with their dependents.
A 1950 Census enumerator interviews Pres. Truman and family

Using new, proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) handwriting recognition technology, Ancestry® announced that it will deliver a searchable index of the 1950 Census faster than ever before. Volunteers will evaluate census extraction records to ensure accurate results. We anticipate the 1950 U.S. Census will be fully indexed and available to search online this summer.

Keep an eye out for the 1950 U.S. Census records coming to Ancestry®, and search Fold3® today to learn more about your veteran’s military history.

121 thoughts on “The 1950 U.S. Census and Military Research”

  2. I will be smiling as I “revisit” the neighborhood of my childhood, as well as those of my grandparents and extended family. I suspect that it will bring back a flood of memories of my 6-year-old self!

    1. I’m smiling with you Nancy! I’ll be able to see with my adult eyes the wonderful people of my childhood neighborhood. In my minds eye I can visit each family as we sit on the front porches while visiting together in the cool of the afternoon. What pleasant memories! I’m so excited that my entire family will be there together, even if for only a moment of time!

  3. I am looking forward to finding some answers to questions I’ve had for years! I was 7 years old in 1953, not old enough to take note of a lot of things.

  4. I have been waiting for this since the 1930 census to fill in gaps that the 1940 didn’t cover for my family.

    I am so excited because I will be on this one.

  5. Definitely looking forward to this census as my parents, my older sister and I am on it. My brother missed being on it as he wasn’t born until June 1950. Have learned so much by viewing the other census years about occupations of family members and friends.

  6. Were non-white veterans able to access those home loans in most areas? I suspect not, and I think a simple qualifying sentence or two might be in order if I am correct, & if the documentation allows you to draw a conclusion.

    3. No. I know there were substantial restrictions on where Black veterans could buy in lots of cities, including my city of Milwaukee. So if that was as widespread as I suspect, the general comments about the rise of the middle-class ought to be described as the rise if the white middle-class, to be accurate. The post-war rise of the American is important. A simple increase in accuracy is … more accurate. Wild guess — you’re not objecting to accuracy.

    5. Was looking forward and excited to see this census as my parents would be married now and two sisters on it. Thank you for bringing that down.
      I guess every article needs to be checked for wokeness now. I’m thinking every veteran had the same opportunity. Some used it, some squandered it. Just like they do today.

    6. Julie … Yes they were. My Dad’s platoon buddy and best friend from Atlantic City NJ, bought a new home in Absecon a block from each other. His daughters and I were raised like sisters
      Research the rules and regulations of the GI Bill and you will see that inner cities were beyond the purchase scope of the bill guidelines.

    8. This site is NOT about correcting “supposed” racial injustices ! This is A GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH SITE–HOW MANY TMES MUST THIS BE WRITTEN? Please stop creating woke propaganda turmoil on this site. Please go TO YOUR Farce BOOK OR CNN TO SPREAD MORE DISINFO !

    11. A very reasonable question, Julie. The complainers wouldn’t even be able to define “woke.” They misuse the term in ignorance or worse, intentionally as they attempt to try to intimidate and censor. (I think they would call it “cancel culture,” one of their favorite misused phrases; however, the complainers never consider that they are ones trying to cancel truth and reality.) They’re the kind of people who visit Monticello and are offended by any talk about slavery and Sally Hemings.

    12. On 1 Apr 1950, I was an eleven-year-old sixth grader happily growing up in Sunnybrae, a post-WW2 subdivision of about 500 homes in San Mateo, California. Many of those new homeowners were veterans, and from the number of kids on our block, their families were growing rapidly. Everybody on our block was white, and I think that every student at our brand new elementary school was white. The census lists the race of each person counted, so I could go through Sunnybrae block by block to confirm that I lived in a totally segregated neighborhood on the San Francisco Peninsula in 1950.

      Asking that the census discuss home loan access for non-white veterans is asking much more than the census was designed to do, but the 1950 census will show, block by block, household by household, the makeup of segregated America in 1950.

      I do not have any figures, but I know that the Sunnybrae of 2020 has a totally different racial makeup than it did in 1950. If the 2020 census were to suddenly become available, you could compare the two Sunnybraes, and for that matter, any other part of the country to get a sense of how much the USA has changed in the last seventy years.

    13. As some repliers have said already: yes, the GI bill was open to non-white veterans. But it was a good question to ask, considering how widespread racial discrimination was back then.
      I’m rather appalled that some people attack you for asking the question! Thanks for doing so.

    14. Thank you for bringing up this important subject. Many many veterans of color were NOT permitted to access the GI Bill or access mortgages. Banks deliberately denied them loans and of course redlining was common. This disgraceful behavior should have been acknowledged in the article.

    15. First thing I thought when I read the article too, Julie. It is a fact that people of color were not granted the same privileges when they returned from fighting for their country. This is not wokeness as one of the readers suggested; this is about an unfair reality that impacted families for generations.

    17. Julie, Millions of Black WWll veterans were denied the benefits of the GI Bill. I don’t understand where this hateful ignorance is coming from for asking a legitimate question. Check History.com. There have been numerus programs on TV, History channel, American history channel and Smithsonian channel. 60 Minutes has even covered it.

  7. I graduated in May 1950 from high school.I started college that fall with the shadow of Korea falling.Several went into the service and one died in Korea and the other on Okinawa when his jet engine failed. I followed to Japan in 1955 after being the first grandson on my Smith family to earn a degree. I have been blessed with a beautiful wife and five children. I have stated for years that my generation has been truly blessed.

  8. Interesting. We were living in Japan with my active-duty father. So, I guess that means nothing for me to find in this census. I guess we were considered non-citizens. I know one in my family was born overseas and they totally messed up his citizenship. Even though he was born of American parents in an American Army hospital he had to apply for entry and is not considered an American citizen. Created all kinds of problems when he applied for Social Security even after paying into the system for 50 years.

    1. I think you have been misled by the way the Fold3 article was written. If you go to the Census web site it says, “Americans abroad were enumerated for the first time in 1950. Provisions were made to count members of the armed forces, crews of vessels, and employees of the United States government living in foreign countries, along with any members of their families also abroad. This enumeration was carried out through cooperative arrangements with the departments of Defense and State, the United States Maritime Administration and other federal agencies that took responsibility for distributing and collecting specially designed questionnaires.”

      So your family was counted.

      I am sorry to hear your relative had a problem with his citizenship. It sounds as if someone made a mistake when recording his birth and no one noticed. In general this was not a problem. I have cousins who were born in Vietnam while their father was employed by Pan American Airways. They never had any questions asked about their citizenship.

    2. I don’t think I misread it. It specifically says they enumerated Canton, Johnson, Midway and Wake Islands. It makes no mention of any enumeration in Japan.

  9. Will have just made it by a few months and I too look forward to seeing myself listed in a census while still living.

  10. Unfortunately those of us doing Canadian family research are still waiting for the 1931 Census.

  11. Since today is my 74th BD I, too, look forward to digging around for new info to compare to past census data. I would like to comment, kindly, about the tragic story told by G. Boykin, above. The timing of the birth is important because the law changed in 2019 due to Department of Homeland Security immigration policy changes to prevent fraud. Before that change, “…children who were born in to U. S. citizens in U. S. military hospitals or diplomatic facilities abroad were considered to be residing in the United States, and were automatically granted U. S. citizenship under Immigration and Nationality Act 320.

    “Under this policy, if a service member or other government employee who was NOT a U. S. citizen had a child with another NON-US Citizen while living overseas, their child would Not be automatically given citizenship. However, the child would have been considered as “residing in the United States,” potentially making it less complicated for them to obtain citizenship. Under the new [2019] policy, children born overseas to parents who are not U. S. citizens are no longer considered to be residing in the U. S.”

    Hope this helps to clarify what seems to be inaccurate information about US Law and Immigration Policy. However, egregious miscarriages of justice do happen. When the error is proven to have caused “injury,” the affected party has recourse under the law to sue the Government for damages. Liability must be proven by negligence on the part of a government employee or contractor. This does not necessarily “die” if the injured person is no longer living and the injury was pass to his/her progeny. If Citizenship errors have been passed along to descendants who were wrongly denied the benefit of citizenship, they may find it valuable to seek legal counsel.

    1. Happy Birthday!!! My 73rd birthday is next Tuesday. Thanks for the information on the status of children born abroad. My daughter was born in Iceland on the NATO base 45 years ago and there has never been any problem with her getting passports/social security. This whole thread has been very informative and I too look forward to reliving my childhood by remembering neighbors that we had and their information like real names, ages and whatnot as they were our “non-blood” relatives as we were in California and the “blood family” lived in Kentucky.

    2. She stated that her parents WERE Americans, living in Japan with her active-duty father. Brother born on base. Someone really messed up here. This was in 1950, so under the pre-2019 HSA policy (was it a law?).

    3. I live in El Paso, Texas where we can walk through the dry Rio Grande riverbed to Mexico! We are sister cities with CITIZENS who face complicated laws with regulations/guidelines concerning citizenship that any average person would have difficulty navigating. Finding a lawyer familiar with immigration law and social security is not rare here. But I wonder if such access exist in the rest of the US.
      Some of my neighbors where I lived in the 1950s , lived, worked, and paid taxes in the US. Some of them spent 15 to 20 years to get citizenship. All of their children (my age) were born and raised in El Paso. The US wanted immigrants in the fifties to work in the factories and on the ranches, due to “labor shortages”. Most of my friends are of Mexican American heritage. I am the “minority” as a 3rd generation German American. In fact, I use this fact as humor when I am in a group of people who begin to get heated over racial issues! I love America and the melting pot in which I was raised…..the 1950 census will let me see what I ‘think’ I remember about the diversity of my neighborhood. Can’t wait!

    2. @Nancy Sand,

      Privacy issues. Same reason why so many other genealogical records such as birth and death certificates are not released immediately. I guess we should be thankful it is 70 years and not more!

    3. Privacy. There is information about age, length of marriage, literacy, occupations, and home ownership in most modern census data. Special farm census forms from the middle to late 1800s even include the value of land, buildings, farm tools, and livestock. They list how many milk cows, bulls, steers, oxen, horses, pigs, sheep, and poultry each farmer had, how many bushels produced in his fields of various crops. I have such complete pictures of the lives of my farmer relatives! People gave this information because it was supposed to be private. Frankly, I am surprised it is available at 72 years.

    1. Just a gentle reminder that the 1940 census was taken in the year 1940 so those of us born in 1949 weren’t even a twinkle in our parents eyes yet. It’s exciting to be able to see ourselves listed in the census taken in the year 1950 🙂

  14. I’m most excited to see 3 of my grandparents on their first censuses! I was born in 2000 and my grandparents were born in 1929, 1944, 1946, and 1948

  17. Will love seeing were all the Family is in 1950 census. I was 2 months in april old about when this census was taken. Sure hope I’m in it with my parents and brother. Love finding and knowing about the family.

    1. what is the cut-off date for the 1950 census? Did you have to be born before 1950? Or was it a given month in 1950?

  19. The tragedy of the Holocaust included many peoples including Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Gypsies”, and others that did not conform with the beliefs of the Nazis. Their concentration camps basically were an appropriation of the Soviets’ Gulags, labor camps for dissidents as well as criminals–both low-level and hardened. (Other nations–e.g; PRC, DPRK, Cambodia–have used—or should I say “still use”– similar camps for “re-education” or political attitude adjustments, as well as under-the-radar executions.) The Nazis, with typical German efficiency, modified their camps to house killing machines to make room for the continuous influx of people during WWII.
    I attended LSU in 1970 and between classes listened to “Free Speech Alley”, a weekly soapbox for the students. David Duke (the eventual KKK leader) was a usual denier of the Holocaust, as well as other abominations. Once an elderly woman, with a strong European accent, interrupted his tirade with her remembrances how the Nazis sent away multitudes of non-Jews, her family included. Duke slinked away—only to return the next week with his BalderdaSh.

    Thank you, “Fold 3”, for your continual scholarship and improving our knowledge of the experience(s) of our ancestors. Democracies must promote freedom of speech; though, I am amazed how some (like Randall) disparage those that relate facts and prefer to lend support to domestic terrorists and their activities.

    2. Who is Randall? I see no Randall among earlier posts. More importantly, who are the “domestic terrorists” to whom you refer? Name them and “their activities”. Are they people who have opinions different from your “facts”? Should they not be afforded freedom of speech because they disagree with you?

  20. It will be interesting to see the release process for 1950. As I recall not all states were available at first when 1940 was released.

  21. Can’t wait for it to come out.
    On citizenship, I had friends that had a son born in a military hospital in Oklahoma and the hospital did not register the birth with the state. He had all kinds of trouble establishing his citizenship as an adult. It took months with many affidavits.

    1. Well, the military invented the SNAFU, didn’t it? My cousins never had a problem, but as their father worked for Pan American he was probably aware of the importance of making sure the paperwork was done correctly.

  22. I am looking forward to reading the 1950 census!! I was at home when our neighbor came around to record the info for my family. I recall seeing him sitting in our living room recording the info!

    2. Seems as if you are the one prolonging the conversation here. Aren’t you the one who brought the terminology “Nazi’s” into this thread?

    3. Learn how to spell! Report me all day long. Your words are the only ones on here that are reportable. No one else.

    4. I think you need to go back and read my posts. Tell me what you THINK I said to insult you? You are the one that brought the Russians and the Ukrainians into this thread. And the “Nazi’s”. For some unknown reason.

    5. We are not afraid of anything. We are just tired of having messages to “be aware” of this, that, and the other dragged into every conversation. Sorry if this offends you, but there is a lot of “aware” fatigue out there.

      By the way, my father was in charge of a “colored” truck company during World War II and from what he told the family during the post war years, I’m sure that any man in that company who wanted to take advantage of the laws could have. My father thought, for many reasons, a segregated army was the stupidest idea anyone ever thought of, and I’m sure he would have said something if the men had been excluded from the GI Bill.

    6. As woke as your father was, maybe he didn’t research the bill enough to realize it was not in the best interest of all.

    7. My father was not “woke” at all. He was just a good man. I don’t appreciate having him and in fact all his generation abused because they didn’t measure up to some silly “woke” ideal.

      I think it is time for this conversation to end. I don’t need the hassle.

  25. I was seven in 1950. It will be interesting to clarify info on my grandparents. I have done considerable research on my ancestors, all the way back to mid 1500s in England. There is even a book dealing with the family name.

    1. I’m in the same boat as you are Patty. My parents & older brother & sisters should be on the 1950 census & I’m hoping to find out more about other relatives as well. You and I have to wait until the 1960 census (hang in there!) in 2032. We can do it! Stay healthy!

  27. I had a great uncle who was born in 1876 at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where his Civil War veteran father, who had “stayed in” after the end of Civil War, was stationed. Years later, he tried to buy life insurance and was denied because neither Army, Virginia, nor home State of New Jersey had a record of his birth’ Fortunately, his brother-in-law (my grandfather) was a lawyer and after several years finally got a New York court to acknowledge his birth.

  28. As with all good things, I am extremely pleased with the announcement of the 1950 census coming to Ancestry. I enjoy the process of uncovering new historical facts about my ancestors and family. Thank you for your service!

  29. Through Ancestry.com DNA and 23andme DNA, I determined my spouse’s biological parents who are deceased. Identified their siblings and many cousins. I can’t wait to see the 1950 census for so many reasons I won’t try to list. But, it will be the first one where myself and three siblings should be listed. Summer seems ages from today!

  30. I think it is pertinent for genealogy research as to how African American citizens faired with the GI Bill.

  31. It seems to me that it will be fun to see my name in a census for the first time. Also, neighborhoods will reveal who was living around us.
    Maybe some other detail will appear that I have been missing. I think the 1940 census was for me a vast trove of immigration and family history. I’ll see what the 1950 brings to the table.

    1. That is what I look forward to. Our neighbors. I was 6 years old and my best friend lived across the road but I can’t remember his name. His mother was Trudy. We went to Meridian school in Oklahoma and I have a picture of our 2nd grade class with us in it. He had such a nice family. I hope he is still living. We walked one mile down the highway to school and picked up pop bottles to cash in at the candy store across the road from school. We had plenty of candy for the whole day. Miss Johnson was our teacher and she had red lipstick. She was always kissing the kids on the cheek but she sure smelled good. She made us boys hang our cap guns on the coat rack until recess. Mrs Birmingham( 1st grade teacher)was her sister. At dinner time, the cooks brought our food to our class room. My friend’s daddy collected comic book. He had a room full of boxes of comics that were never touched. They might be worth some thing now. We lived on Oliver Road ,Duncan, Oklahoma.

  32. My Wife was born in 1952 in Swindon England. Her father and mother were American citizens. Her dad was a United States Airforce Col. stationed with the U.S. Airforce at a British Airbase. As a result she was a dual Citizen of the U.S. and Great Britain. Her father was transferred back to the US and when she was 15 years old her father came to her and said sign this. She asked what it was and he said you are renouncing your dual citizenship status and will only be an American.
    Guess commanding 5000 men during WW2 and sending letters to Parents who lost their sons made this an easy decision for him.

  33. African-Americans do genealogical research also. They, therefore, have every right to ask questions about information submitted on this site, as do those of us who help our friends with their research. Why do these questions offend you so much?

  34. Why is Michael l Javick allowed to call people names, “dirty”. Why are these insulting and bullying comments allowed to stay here? Shame on fold3.

    1. Agreed. he needs to pray about his hostile, mean-spirited attitude. If being “woke” means acknowledging injustice, count me in as a proud “woke” person.

    2. I agree with you. Name calling and unhinged rants do t qualify as free speech to me. I am white but I had the same reaction to the article as Ms Stodolka did. A simple sentence saying something like-although black GIs often were not able to take advantage of the GI bill due to redlining, housing discrimination etc. would have made the article more accurate.

  36. Will any Forces personnel stationed on the Island of Ireland be mentioned anywhere on the available documents?

  37. Michael I Javick makes a lucid suggestion at his 12:46 PM post when he suggests: “For those who have come to this site for genuine Genealogy research please report those who are creating turmoil here on this site…”. It’s a great suggestion! Everyone, please consider it as you reflect on the ongoing source of any turmoil you may witness here.

    2. Raising the issue of the black serviceman not having the same access to GI Bill benefits (for a variety of reasons) which is FACTUAL is not creating turmoil. The commentator you reference did that by attacking someone who suggested the article was not quite accurate and should be corrected. (I do not agree with that assertion because including in a short article all of the ways the GI Bill was flawed in its language or its application would be too long, other than I might add this caveat at the beginning “For many returning soldiers”. The commentator you mentioned could have ignored the comment, noted that the issue was more complicated than just “minorities did not get the same access to the GI Bill”, but instead he turned it into a screed of his prejudices, using the term “woke” as a pejorative. Be respectful of others as much as is possible.

  38. I am also looking forward to the 1950 U.S. Federal Census release! I also wonder if they will be recording anyone that passed away within “the past year”, as they have done in some past census’? My immigrant grandmother passed in 1949. I will not personally be in the 1950 census (the youngest of 14 children), but many of my siblings will be. 3 of who have passed already. I do wish we didn’t have to wait 72 years! …maybe 50, or 60… a lot of folks may not survive long enough to see it themselves!

  39. I think it’s Michael Javick that needs to take himself over to Parlor or wherever else. I appreciate questions about how different Americans experienced life in the twentieth century and am excited about the new census coming out. Thanks to all the rest of of you for your politeness.

    1. I disagree. His trope filled outrage prompted others to share links, information, and led to a lively discussion. Perhaps he will read the articles and develop a little empathy.

  41. I’ve been researching my family now for 25-30 years. I was so excited to see each new census record released and see my relatives and older folks I remember from my childhood. Most of them were deceased by then, and now ….. 1950! Makes you feel old when a census record is released for a time period that you remember, and you can find yourself on it!

  42. Back to the 1950 Census and its supplemental questions regarding housing and loans, Blacks, (veterans and otherwise) who wished to build a home in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) were “guided” by realtors and bankers to Pacoima. Military service didn’t really matter. Pacoima or nothing, essentially.

  44. We were in the west end of Compton, CA (rural) in 1950. I’m anxious to see what the racial makeup was of our neighborhood. You don’t have to be “woke” to know that restrictive covenants were written into real property deeds that prohibited sale to Black people. Later Compton was strictly segregated along the railroad tracks. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that white flight erased that barrier. I’m proud that my white family was not part of that flight.

  45. Michael Javick–One comment has set you into a rage. Many responses have allowed documented, factual sources to be referred to. I am learning a lot by researching some of them. Hopefully you could do the same. All I read from you is ANGER. ( I have a cousin who also ‘raged’ at certain things said or written on the internet. It has affected her health.) I hope you take a break from this string of conversations to reset emotions.

  46. Thanks to those who provided links to the articles about the how the GI Bill and other federal programs systematically excluded non-white veterans and other citizens from home ownership, education, and other benefits. Both articles show how structural racism works. The truth is never propaganda.
    My father’s GI Bill benefits helped his many of his family members and allowed him to buy his first home. Our family always lived in all white, suburban neighborhoods when I was growing up. Like many whites, parents were appalled by the Fair Housing Act. They believed it lead to non-whites buying homes in our neighborhood, causing property values to automatically decrease. Of course, this never happened; non-whites didn’t take over San Diego suburbs and property values didn’t tank when the area became a very tiny bit more diverse.

  48. Thank you, Peter Diehr, for the informative website “How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans” https://www.history.com/news/gi-bill-black-wwii-veterans-benefits. People like Michael l Javick is making this about politics by mentioning CNN, Facebook. Maybe he thinks this is a member genealogy site only for white people! Per the article, it was the Democrats holding back the blacks from prospering – present day it is the Republicans. I am a white Republican, BTW, and my great-grandfather and his 3 brothers fought in the Civil War as Confederates. I, too, am curious because I had a black nanny who had 2 teenage sons at the time the census was taken and all she and her husband could afford to live in was a shanty about 3/4 miles away which has since been torn down. My parents rental house was nothing to brag about (my father was turned down for WWII, so he did not qualify for these GI loans).

  49. I have done some looking into the recording of overseas military personnel in the 1950 census. My father was in Germany and I believe he would have had to fill out a P5/1950 Overseas Census Form (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/206240479). I think that they were all destroyed, but I have not been able to find that out for sure. I know at least two other commenters on this post would also like to have more information on this overseas census.

  50. Bob, Racial restrictive covenants were declared unconstitutional in Shelley V Kraemer, decided in 1948. Of course, the Supreme Court’s ruling may have been ignored.Buddy

  51. I think the question about whether or not black veterans were able to use their service to get a loan to buy a home is a valid question. It makes a difference in many ways. This is not a “woke” question, either. I was born in 1942 and have wondered about such things since about 1955 when I realized my town had a black and a white high school, and I asked why that was. I played with a couple of black children at my grandma’s farm, and wondered why we were not in the same school! If you are so hung up on “woke” it says s lot about how racist you are!

    1. As a child I lived in one of the subdivisions built in the 60s not too far from Ft Knox Ky. A lot of GIs bought those homes. I only remember one non-white family in the whole place. One reason I like genealogy is to learn about history and how my family fits in so I don’t understand that one guy’s beef with others who just pointed out that the article could have been a tad more accurate

  52. You might be surprised who wrote those covenants in to those deeds. Under the New Deal, Blacks couldn’t own property in White areas and couldn’t hold certain jobs.
    Truth is there is no difference in the Democrats today with their “Diversity” crap, they now have Blacks demanding segregation, that’s right, demanding what Martin Luther King Jr, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and others died trying to destroy.

  54. I lived in several small towns and larger cities in Arkansas and Texas in the 1960’s and 70’s. the fact of the matter was that there was only a small part of town, anywhere we lived, that Blacks were allowed to live. Period. It had nothing to do with the GI Bill. It also had nothing to do with how much education a person had, or how much money they made. Could have been a millionaire, would have made no difference.

    1. I find it fascinating that so many people can take a simple subject and turn it into a national debate. The initial post was simply to let anyone who might be interested that the 1950 census information would be released this June.
      Instead it devolved into a civil rights rehash.
      I will readily admit that people of color have not always been treated fairly through history. But we can’t and should not rewrite history.
      I have read manly articles on Critical Race Theory. I have read article written by people of all political leanings.
      From what I have seen the main theme is to teach our children that simply because their skin is white they are automatically racist. If this is the tact we are going to take to try to assuage prejudicial behavior from prior generations going back generations, do we also emphasize the negative aspects of minority populations?
      If you are going to paint all the members of one group with the same brush shouldn’t that approach apply to all.

    2. Russ Goodspeed : “I find it fascinating that so many people can take a simple subject and turn it into a national debate. The initial post was simply to let anyone who might be interested that the 1950 census information would be released this June. Instead it devolved into a civil rights rehash.”

      Yet you choose to enter the debate. Hmmmm

      Then the rest of your post is inaccurate and misleading information, despite you saying you have “read manly articles on Critical Race Theory.” Based upon what you write, you do not understand CRT no matter or how many your source readings.

      You write: “From what I have seen the main theme is to teach our children that simply because their skin is white they are automatically racist.” That is utter nonsense, a total straw man statement. CRT is a complex concept that you and others distort with that one shallow, ridiculous statement. I understand that it is a winning political argument as we saw in Virginia last November, but it is dishonest and shameful.

      Since you say you read material by people of all political leanings, I suggest you read Richard Rothstein’s book, “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.” It is meticulously researched and eye-opening for those who have a real love through knowledge (not a myth or fantasy) for our country and desire our country to become the best it can be. As our aspirational Preamble says, “In order to form a more perfect union, establish justice …”

  55. It is obvious that some have a narrower focus than others when it comes to genealogy. Some see it more restricted to who begat who. Others see it ad encompassing broader history and personal stories. I get “both sides” of the debate. Yet I bet I will be criticized for seeing “both sides “.

    1. Hi Greg. I’m with you. I don’t believe that those with a narrow focus get the full experience. I love history in general and believe that when you know what went on at any given time enriches the ancestors’ experiences. It can help to explain their choices their migrations, and many other things. My tree does not just include direct ancestors, as I frequently go down “rabbit holes” looking at my ancestors’ siblings, spouses, etc. That could be helpful to another researcher. I’ve even found out that one of my college roommates is something like an 8th cousin of mine!!

  56. At the end of WWII in Europe, my dad, an US Army Captain, was joined by his very young bride from Texas. I suspect they/we lived there in occupied quarters/barracks since there were probably no identifiable US posts there at the time. I was born in 1948 in a local Heidelberg, Germany hospital. In fact, I have a German birth certificate. I am curious to see if our small military family was recorded in the 1950 Census because we had recently returned to the US by then. Incidentally, I had a little issue when I later returned to Germany as a G.I. in 1968. For the job I was doing I needed a security clearance. Since I did not have a passport I’m sure the nearly 10-week delay in getting my clearance was related to the German birth certificate issued by a non-US Army hospital. I subsequently received a passport in 1978, but only after an extensive Q & A about why I didn’t already have a US or German passport or why I didn’t have a US birth certificate in 1948 issued by a US Army authority in Germany.

    2. I find the census amazing. I watched how the spelling of my ancestors names changed, how their race was defined every ten years. I can’t wait to see what surprises the 1950 census will show.

    3. Ruby, please read the original message again. It is not going to be released until April 1, 2022. Even so, it will take a couple of months for it to be fully on Ancestry

  58. Maybe if America FINALLY starts to be truthful about its past, we won’t have to constantly correct blatant omissions. Black vets were systematically denied the GI Bill, the cheap rate housing loans, the education benefits, agriculture loans etc etc. Talk about no boot straps to pull up! Black soldiers went off to fight and came home to get treated like dirt. Until this country 1)admits the truth and 2)do something about it is the only way to resolve the race issue. Nothing less is acceptable.

  60. I am looking forward to seeing what the 1950 Census shows about Black Americans and in particular Black veterans who served in the War. I have uncles who served and came home to discrimination in housing, getting loans etc.

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