1940 Census - I Said I Wouldn't Do It!

1940 Census Documents

As all genealogists know, the 1940 Census was released to the public on April 2nd.  Volunteers will be working diligently over the next few months to create an index so that it is searchable by name.  Until then, you must have a pretty good idea of where your ancestors were living in 1940 so you can identify the Enumeration District.  You can then scan through the digital images in an effort to find your ancestors.

I knew my ancestors were living at the same address as 1940 as they did in 1930.  After all, it was the Great Depression, and I think most people were happy to be able to survive in their same home.  I knew there were a few pieces of information I'd not collected previously, such as their annual salary, home value and years of education completed.  But I even had a pretty good idea of that information.

After reading that the National Archives reported that there were 37 million "hits" in the first 24 hours, I just had to see what I was missing.  The first thing that surprised me was the clarity of the digital images. The second thing was the ease with which I was able to find my relatives without having done my homework and researched their Enumeration District.

So what new information did I get?  Not much.  I was surprised to see in print that the highest level of education among all four of my grandparents was 9th Grade.  Both grandfathers only had the opportunity to attend school through 7th Grade.  Both grandparents owned homes worth between $6000 and $6700.  One had an annual salary of $1600 and the other a salary of $1900.  All of their children were staying in school longer.

The biggest surprise was discovering that my Great-grandfather, August Vonderheide, had already sold his home and moved in with his son's family.  Even my aunt was under the impression that he still was living in his large home in 1940.  It had been sold to a dentist and his much younger wife who shared the home with a live-in servant.

It was fun finding my husband, soon-to-be 76 years old, in the Census.  His parents were having a more difficult time.They were paying rent of $15 and had an annual salary of $926. He had graduated from high school, but according to my husband, his father was also going to school.

I'm sure I'll find myself scanning through more of the Census when I'm bored with whatever is on television.  I guess I'm glad I gave in and checked it out.  I'll be interested in reading about the really surprising discoveries I'm sure some of my genealogist friends will make about their families.  In ten years, I'll get to see what the 1950 Census has to say about me.

Nicker Church and Cemetery

Pallasgreen or Pallasgrean (Irish: Pailís Ghréine, meaning "stockade of Grian") is a village in East County Limerick, situated on the Limerick–Tipperary N24 road. The name means "the Stockade of Grian," referring to an ancient Irish Goddess of Love, whose is associated with the a nearby hill of Nicker. Wikipedia

As mentioned in an earlier post, our new friend, Bill, directed us to the Church located on Nicker Hill. The geology of the hill is interesting in itself, and a grotto was dug into the hillside.  After the gothic churches I had become so familiar with in Germany and in the cities of Ireland, I was initially surprised by its overall simplicity.

Near the grotto and to one side of the church yard were the graves of several priests who had served this church.  The church was not open, but we were able to get in the vestibule and see that parts of it were undergoing restoration.  A couple of men working on the landscape told us that the church had a new pastor, and he encouraged them to really work on fixing up the church, its surroundings, and the cemetery located a couple of miles away in Old Pallas.

Right across the street was a field with very pastoral views of the surrounding countryside. It really was very rural.

We followed the directions given to us to find the old cemetery in Old Pallas.  One of the things I found most interesting was that most of what we would call grave markers, appeared to be memorial markers instead.  A marker would be engraved with the names of several family members and often more than one generation.  They would say that they were erected "In Memory Of..." The parishioners told us that until the new pastor arrived, the cemetery had become quite overgrown.


It was clear that the cemetery had originally been placed alongside a church that was now in ruins.

Many of the grave markers were dedicated to Ryans and Dwyers. I got really excited when I saw a grave marker that listed Matthew Ryan, father of Jeremiah.  "Our" Matthew allegedly died in 1855 and I believe he had a son named Jeremiah.  Upon closer examination, I noticed that this Matthew died in 1955.  I'm sure they were all related, as all of the Ryans and Dwyers in the area were "cousins".

                                                                It reads:  Erected by
                                                                JEREMIAH RYAN
                                                                       Ballyludgy
                                                              In memory of his father
                                                               MATTHEW RYAN
                                                             son of DARBY RYAN
                                                               and MARY KELLY

I love old cemeteries -- just ask my sister, Karen, and my niece, Julie.  If you want to see more of the grave markers, click on this link to the Pallasgreen Photoshow.  You can pause on the grave markers and watch them 'til your heart is content.  Pallasgreen, County Limerick