1950 Census Data

Question

Is there a non-Ancestry website that will provide 1950 census data in terms of microfilm and roll numbers for citing this source? FamilySearch and even the official 1950 Census website are not getting the job done.

Answer 1

Since few, if any, people are using census microfilms now, I'd recommend not bothering to cite them. 

FWIW, here's a comment from the Evidence Explained webpage, about citing census microfilms (https://www.evidenceexplained.com/node/1680 : accessed 2 September 2023). (Evidence Explained gives 'the ideal citation format' for Wikitree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Sources : accessed 2 September 2023):

'Do we really need to do all that for a census citation? Opinions vary among researchers. A decade or two ago, when most people were still consulting censuses as microfilm at their local libraries, identifying the exact film number could matter significantly. Many censuses underwent more than one filming in the early-to-late 1900s. Some libraries still had inferior "first filmings" that they could not afford to replace, even though legibility was poor.

'Today, the major providers are all digitizing from the best film available. Some are putting problematic film images through enhancement procedures to make them more legible. In EE's opinion, the more important issue today is the identity of the provider. Past that point, our source-of-the-source data might simply quote whatever origin the provider offers.'

Comments

So there currently isn't a known way to get this information online...

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I don't actually know whether you can. I'm saying only that it doesn't matter. The point of the citation is to let everyone know where you found the information, and to let people know where to find it for themselves. If you didn't find it on the microfilm, and no one (?) is using the census microfilms to find it, then where it is on the microfilm doesn't matter. Naming them is just clutter.

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Well, I wasn't asking if you thought it important to cite this information. I was asking if anyone knew where it could be found.

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So there currently isn't a known way to get this information online...

As you alluded, it is available on Ancestry.com.  I didn't find it elsewhere.  The microfilming history is described here which notes:

Most 1950 census microfilm rolls have a few EDs from one county, and then another, and then another, and so forth, often from different states.  There is no coherent order.  Fortunately, researchers won’t need to know what “microfilm roll” to look for when the census opens for public use on April 1, 2022.  Part of NARA’s preparation includes identifying the order in which each Enumeration District appears on each roll of microfilm and identifying all of the images (pages) for each ED.  The special NARA website dedicated to the 1950 census will enable researchers to search by state, county, ED numbers, and possibly in other ways.

There is an index available, but many ED groupings have multiple rolls associated:  https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196015600 

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You can also find the NARA roll number by entering the state, county, and enumeration district at FindMyPast:  https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/1950-us-census-image-browse

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Alright. Thanks for your informative answer! I have institutional access to Ancestry. I wanted to make sure this info isn’t elsewhere before I checked there.

Answer 2

I am confused reading the answer here because I find 1950 census data all the time on Family Search.  That being said, I do not find it on the first search.  Usually I find it when I look at one source and then refer to the section called Similar Records just below the picture of the document.  See this link for a 1940 census.  For some reason, 1950 census only shows the last name.  In this case, it just says Hopper which is why the first search will not find it.  But it is there.

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/L1LW-N1K

Comments

Thanks for that tip, Gurney. I've notice that  section a few times, but paid minimal attention to the sources listed there.  Will be looking more closely forever more.