Famous and Infamous Census Records
September 27, 2016 11:29 PM Subscribe
Famous and Infamous Census Records — Find out where they lived from 1790 to 1940: presidents; celebrities; authors; human rights activists and social reformers; industrialists and inventors; politicians and public servants (including U.S. Census Bureau luminaries); American Indians, Alaska natives, and native Hawaiians; military personnel; scientists; artists, cartoonists, and animators; adventurers; musicians; other notable Americans; sports stars; and of course, the truly infamous.
"ration Indian" as occupation speaks volumes about what was then and is now our institutionalized racism
posted by mollymillions at 5:30 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by mollymillions at 5:30 AM on September 28, 2016
apologies - I forgot to add that this should come with a trigger warning so as to truly respect each other
posted by mollymillions at 5:31 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by mollymillions at 5:31 AM on September 28, 2016
This is fascinating. I am something of a Census nerd (by job, not by choice) and had no idea this existed. You can see some very careful lines being drawn between NARA and Census. And yay for the mention of public libraries right at the top.
Also, I will plug my favorite feature about the Census Bureau: you can call them and they will put an expert on the phone to talk to you! I have done this more than once to get a tricky methodology question answered. They are very nice folks.
posted by librarylis at 8:33 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, I will plug my favorite feature about the Census Bureau: you can call them and they will put an expert on the phone to talk to you! I have done this more than once to get a tricky methodology question answered. They are very nice folks.
posted by librarylis at 8:33 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is all so fascinating!
I looked up Gene Wilder's records on FamilySearch.org when he died, since I know his real name (Jerome Silberman). I knew he had been raised near the house where I grew up in Milwaukee, and it turned out he had lived only 8 blocks away (three decades previously). I was able to look up the address on Google Maps, and it's still a tidy little duplex house known in some parts of the Midwest as a Polish flat. I lived in one of those, too!
posted by droplet at 9:21 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I looked up Gene Wilder's records on FamilySearch.org when he died, since I know his real name (Jerome Silberman). I knew he had been raised near the house where I grew up in Milwaukee, and it turned out he had lived only 8 blocks away (three decades previously). I was able to look up the address on Google Maps, and it's still a tidy little duplex house known in some parts of the Midwest as a Polish flat. I lived in one of those, too!
posted by droplet at 9:21 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
You're either the type of person who says, when presented with the option, "Yes, I must definitely look at Hattie McDaniel's census record immediately" or you are not. I absolutely am.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:29 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:29 AM on September 28, 2016
I love this dumb site tho I wish they'd found a way to display these images inline instead of having to download a bunch of pages. Still!
posted by jessamyn at 3:22 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn at 3:22 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by not_on_display at 11:30 PM on September 27, 2016