04-16-2012, 09:30 AM
(CNN) -- Finding a long-lost uncle's name on a census form or discovering that Grandpa identified himself as a mural painter: It's the stuff genealogists and history hunters live for.
It also creates the kind of enthusiasm that endures weeks after the release of a major trove of information like the 1940 census. The National Archives website crashed on April 4, the day the records were publicly released after a mandatory 72-year waiting period. Ancestry.com, which began rolling out the data on the same day, experienced a 175% traffic spike that day.
Two weeks later, those in the "family history space" are still digging deep into the records, with new discoveries being made each day, said Megan Smolenyak, family history adviser at Archives.com.
"The census is about as comprehensive as it gets when it comes to historic primary sources," she said. "The deeper you dig, the more answers you unlock. But, you also run into more puzzles."
Even among people who don't spend their free time poking around the family tree, 1940 census records offer bits of intrigue and curiosity from a bygone era: a time when homes cost $2,000 and indoor plumbing was still a luxury; when "shoe shanker" was a common occupation and people had names like Beguis. Celebrity watchers can also dig up information about stars born before World War II and find out who Betty White lived with and how much income her parents brought in.
full article here:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/16/living/194...?hpt=hp_c2
It also creates the kind of enthusiasm that endures weeks after the release of a major trove of information like the 1940 census. The National Archives website crashed on April 4, the day the records were publicly released after a mandatory 72-year waiting period. Ancestry.com, which began rolling out the data on the same day, experienced a 175% traffic spike that day.
Two weeks later, those in the "family history space" are still digging deep into the records, with new discoveries being made each day, said Megan Smolenyak, family history adviser at Archives.com.
"The census is about as comprehensive as it gets when it comes to historic primary sources," she said. "The deeper you dig, the more answers you unlock. But, you also run into more puzzles."
Even among people who don't spend their free time poking around the family tree, 1940 census records offer bits of intrigue and curiosity from a bygone era: a time when homes cost $2,000 and indoor plumbing was still a luxury; when "shoe shanker" was a common occupation and people had names like Beguis. Celebrity watchers can also dig up information about stars born before World War II and find out who Betty White lived with and how much income her parents brought in.
full article here:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/16/living/194...?hpt=hp_c2