Learning How To Index The 1940 Census

The Indiana Genealogical Society has joined forces with genealogy societies and organizations around the country as part of the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project. The Project will make the index to the 1940 census free to everyone.

Here’s a few things to get you ready to index the 1940 census:

1. Sign up to index the 1940 census with IGS. Learn the details at http://indgensoc.blogspot.com/2012/03/join-igs-in-indexing-1940-census.html
2. Watch the FamilySearch videos to learn about their indexing program. These include the Indexing Quick Start video and Indexing Tutorial. Also read their Frequently Asked Questions.
3. Although you can’t index the 1940 census until it is released from the National Archives on April 2, FamilySearch has posted two test batches to give you some practice time. These are census images created by FamilySearch for training purposes and are not actual census images.
4. FamilySearch has a number of ongoing projects that will help you build your indexing skills:
   --California Great Registers, 1866-1910
   --Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists
   --New Jersey 1905 State Census
   --Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910
   --If you want to index Indiana records, you can index the Indiana County Marriages 1811-1959.
   

Watch the training videos, download a few indexing batches and be sure to join IGS as we partner with other genealogy societies and organizations to make a free index to the 1940 U.S. Census.