Online Military Records and Indexes Website - Latest Additions

The Online Military Records and Indexes website has been updated with links to the following...

Revolutionary War
 - Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution Patriot Graves Registry

War of 1812
 - National Society United States Daughters of 1812 Ancestor Database
 - Pennsylvania: War of 1812 Index of Soldiers

Mexican War
 - Indiana Mexican War Veterans (from the Indiana Digital Archives)
 - New York: Pension Claims of First N.Y. Regiment Volunteers Who Fought in the Mexican War

Civil War
 - Indiana Civil War Muster Rolls Index (213,000 entries; from the Indiana State Digital Archives)
 - Kentucky Confederate Pensions 1912-1946
 - Mississippi Confederate Pension Applications, 1889-1932 (about 36,000 applications arranged alphabetically by name)
 - New Jersey Civil War Gravestones Database
 - North Carolina Civil War Confederate Soldiers and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1953 at FamilySearch
 - Pennsylvania: Registers of Pennsylvania Civil War Volunteers, 1861-1865 (PDF images; not indexed)
 - South Dakota: Special Census of Civil War Veterans Living in Dakota Territory (South Dakota) in 1885

World War I
 - Mississippi World War I Statement of Service Cards and Indices
 - World War I Draft Registrations for Northern Virginia (Draft registrations from the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, and Fairfax County)

World War II
 - World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) at FamilySearch (includes digitized images) update: more states added
 - Georgia World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1942 for individuals born between 1897 and 1929 (at FamilySearch)
 - Indiana - St. Joseph County: South Bend Tribune Service Notes Database for World War II, Korea and Vietnam
 - Oklahoma Military Deaths - WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam

Korean War
 - Arkansas Korean War Project

Vietnam War
 - Michigan Military Personnel Who Died in the Vietnam War

This is a list of the most recent additions. There are many more military records links at: Online Military Indexes and Records

Online Birth and Marriage Records Indexes - Latest Additions and Updates

The Online Birth and Marriage Records Indexes List (USA) has recently been updated. Here are the latest additions and updates:

Arizona
 - Arizona Death Records Index 1844-1961 and Birth Index 1855-1936 (update: year 1961 added to death index and 1936 added to birth index)

Arkansas
 - Washington County Marriage Record Search 1845-1941 (includes scanned images)

California
 - California Birth Index 1905-1995 at FamilySearch
See: Online California Vital Records Indexes

Colorado
 - Colorado Statewide Marriage Index 1900-1939 at FamilySearch (browsable images)
See: Colorado Genealogy Records and Indexes on the Internet

Indiana
 - Indiana Marriage Records Index 1811-1959 from FamilySearch for assorted counties (update: more counties added)
See: Online Indiana Vital Records Indexes for Birth, Marriage & Death Records

Kentucky
 - Campbell County Marriage License Index

Louisiana
 - Caddo Parish & Shreveport Marriage Index, March 3, 1920-present (update: more years added)

Michigan
 - Michigan Births, 1867-1902 - Index and Images from FamilySearch
 - St. Joseph County Marriage Index 1889-1925

New Mexico
 - Bernalillo County Marriage Index 1888-Recent; includes Albuquerque

New York
 - New York City Birth Records Index 1880-1909 (update: more years added)
See: New York Vital Records Indexes & Genealogy Records on the Internet

Ohio
 - Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994 at FamilySearch (does not include all counties; coverage varies by county)
 - Hamilton County: Cincinnati Birth and Death Records 1865-1912 (includes digital images)
 - Miami County Marriage Index 1807-1865
See: Online Ohio Vital Records Indexes

Pennsylvania
 - Pennsylvania Statewide Marriage Records 1885-1889
 - Bucks County Marriage Records Index 1885-present
 - Montgomery County Marriage License and Probate Case Search 1990s-present
See: Online Pennsylvania Vital Records Indexes - Birth, Marriage & Death Records

South Carolina
 - Richland County (includes Columbia) Marriage License Search, July 1911-present

Tennessee
 - Shelby County (Memphis) Marriages 1820-1970 and 1920-1989; partial; (update: more years added)

Texas
 - Williamson County Clerk - Search Birth, Marriage and Death Records
See: Online Texas Vital Records Indexes

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For links to the above items see: Online Birth and Marriage Records Indexes

Online Indexes for Death Records, Cemeteries and Obituaries - Latest Additions

The Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records Directory (USA) has been updated with links to the following items...

California
 - California Death Index 1905-1939 at FamilySearch (browsable images arranged alphabetically by name)
 - Los Angeles County: Mt. Olive and Broadway Cemetery Burials (Whittier, CA); See: Online Los Angeles County Death Indexes, Records and Obituaries
 - Sacramento County Burial Grounds: Indigent Burials (large PDF file)
 - San Joaquin County Public Library Obituary Index, 1850-1991 (from FamilySearch) includes digitized images of the obituaries

Colorado
 - Arapahoe County: Mount Nebo Memorial Park - Cemetery Burials (in Aurora, Colorado)

Florida
 - Palm Beach County Official Records Search 1968-recent (includes marriage licenses and some estate death certificates)

Georgia
 - Richmond County: Augusta Graveside Project (burials in city maintained cemeteries; work in progress)

Illinois
 - DeKalb County Online Genealogy Search; for birth certificates (75 years or older), marriage licenses (50 years or older), death certificates (20 years or older) and naturalization certificates (100 years or older)
 - McDonough County Probate Case Files Index 1833-1925
 - Sangamon County Probate Case Files Index 1821-1906 (update: more years added)

Iowa
 - State Historical Society of Iowa Death Indexes c.1917-c.1933 (PDF files for some Iowa counties; coverage varies by county)
 - Louisa County Cemeteries

Kentucky
 - Jessamine County: Maple Grove Cemetery Burials (in Nicholasville, KY)
 - Meade County Cemetery Inscriptions

Massachusetts
 - Bristol County: Fall River Herald News Obituary Index 1951-2010 (some years missing; Excel files)
 - Suffolk County: Boston Globe and Herald Obituary Database 1953-2010 (indexes full length obituaries only, no death notices) update: more years added

Michigan
 - Menominee County: Riverside Cemetery Burials (in Menominee, Michigan)
 - Oakland County: Farmington Library Obituaries Index 1890-1999 (also indexes some marriages and cemetery burials)
 - Wayne County Death Records Indexes 1934-1953 (excluding the City of Detroit); See: Online Detroit and Wayne County Death Records and Indexes

Minnesota
 - Norman County Death Index 1871-1981 (also has other genealogy indexes)
 - Sherburne County Genealogy Indexes (includes indexes for obituaries, deaths 1870-1923, cemetery burials and more)

Missouri
 - Missouri Death Certificates Index and Images 1910-1961 (update: year 1961 added)
 - Jackson County: City of Lee's Summit Cemetery Map (includes burial search; requires Flash)
 - St. Louis: Bellefontaine Cemetery Association Map (includes burial search; requires Flash)
 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch Obituary Index (covers 1880-1930, 1942-1945, 1960-1969, and 1992-2011) update: year 2011 added
 - for the above 2, see: Online St. Louis, Missouri Death Records, Indexes & Obituaries

New Hampshire
 - Sullivan County: A Survey of Springfield, New Hampshire's Small Cemeteries and Single Graves

New Mexico
 - New Mexico: County Death Records 1907-1952, for Sandoval, Socorro, and Valencia Counties (browsable images; coverage varies by county) from FamilySearch

New Jersey
 - New Jersey Death Records Index, June 1878-June 1888 (update: more months added)

Ohio
 - Montgomery County: Calvary Cemetery Burials (Catholic Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio)

Pennsylvania
 - Pennsylvania Death Records Indexes 1906-1961 (PDF files; you must search each year separately; for some years surnames are listed by Soundex code)
 - Blair County Death Records Indexes (from the Blair County Genealogical Society)
 - Delaware County Archives (includes indexes for births, marriages, deaths, wills, veteran's graves and other items)
 - Westmoreland County: Baltzer Meyer Historical Society Index of Obituaries (for Greensburg, Pennsylvania)

Texas
- Dallas Area Cemeteries (from the Dallas Genealogical Society)

Utah
- Utah Death Certificates 1904-1961 (update: years 1959-1961 added; 1961 is not yet indexed)

Virginia
 - Winchester Evening Star Obituary Index 1896-1912 (from the Handley Regional Library) also has a link for Mount Hebron Cemetery Burials
 - Winchester Evening Star Obituaries, 1899-1909 (digitized images from FamilySearch)

Wisconsin
 - Eau Claire Historical Search; including Obituary and Cemetery Indexes

Wyoming
 - Sweetwater County: Burial Index for Riverview Cemetery in Green River, Wyoming

See: Online Searchable Death Records Indexes and Obituaries

Comparing Home Prices in the 1930 and 1940 Censuses

After doing a lot of 1940 census research on my ancestors and other relatives last week, I started comparing information given in the 1940 census with the previous census of 1930. I was immediately struck by the sharp decline in home values from 1930 to 1940. But we know this was the time of the Great Depression.

My great grandfather, August Beine, owned a home at 2860 Arlington Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. The 1930 census shows the home valued at $10,000. The same home was valued at $2500 in the 1940 census.

My mother's great aunt, Sadie Nyhof, and her husband Anton were living at 5974 Romaine Place in St. Louis in 1930. Their home was valued at $10,000. Anton died in 1935. Sadie was still living in the house in 1940, which was valued at $2500. In both censuses, another family rented part of the house. The rent was $47/month in 1930 and $27.50/month in 1940.

These examples show how the value of two homes declined significantly during the Great Depression of the 1930s, a period my parents and grandparents lived through. The 1930 and 1940 censuses can provide intriguing snapshots of this time in our history. Along with home values (or monthly rent), the 1940 census also shows salaries, education (years of school completed, including college) and other interesting information. What have you found?

For information on the 1940 US Census and where to find the records online, see: Compact Guide to the 1940 Census

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Sources:

Beine family
1940 US Census, Missouri, St. Louis City, ED 96-519D, Sheet 6A (line 32); enumerated April 18, 1940.
1930 US Census, Missouri, St. Louis City, ED 96-103, Sheet 18B (line 79); enumerated April 6, 1930.

Nyhof family (and renter)
1940 US Census, Missouri, St. Louis City, ED 96-764, Sheet 10B (lines 57 and 59); enumerated April 11-12, 1940.
1930 US Census, Missouri, St. Louis City, ED 96-255, Sheet 7A (lines 20 and 23); enumerated April 7, 1930.

1940 census records listed above were accessed from 1940census.archives.gov. 1930 census records listed above were viewed at the Rocky Mountain (Denver) National Archives branch on microfilm and online at Ancestry.com.

Cool Stuff in the 1940 Census

I've been looking over the basic information given for each person and household in the 1940 U.S. federal census (due to be released on April 2, 2012). Some of it is the same or similar as the information given in the 1930 census. But three items from the 1940 census stood out as being, well, kinda cool...

"Enter X after name of person furnishing information."
(The x has a circle around it.)
For the first time, we'll get to see who gave the information to the census enumerator. And if that person was not a member of the household, the enumerator was instructed: "If you find it necessary to obtain the information from a person who is not a member of the household, write the name of this person in the left-hand margin, opposite the entries for the household, thus: 'Information from John Brown, neighbor.'" Very cool.

"In What Place Did This Person Live on April 1, 1935?"
The census form states: "...For a person who lived in a different place, enter city or town, county, and State, as directed in the Instructions. (Enter actual place of residence, which may differ from mail address.)" Column 19 in this section asked for: "State (or Territory or foreign country)." We'll now know where someone was living half way between the 1930 and 1940 censuses, including if they were living outside the USA. Pretty cool.

"Income in 1939"
Ever wonder how much your ancestors made? The 1940 census should tell you. From the census form: "Amount of money wages or salary received (including commissions)." And: "Did this person receive income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary? (Yes or No)." Leaving you to guess what those other sources might be. Also, the value of the home (if owned) or the monthly rent (if rented) is given in the "household data" section. So you'll get a little glimpse into your ancestor's economic life. Definitely cool.

Cool 1940 Census resources: Compact Guide to the 1940 Census

Enumerator instructions quoted above are from: 1940 Census: Instructions to Enumerators (large PDF file)

The 1940 Census: Helpful Resources

The 1940 U.S. Federal Census was made available digitally on the Internet beginning April 2, 2012. Since then separate indexes were created by FamilySearch volunteers and Ancestry.com. Here are some resources to help you learn more about the 1940 Census and where to find the records online...

Where to Find the 1940 Census Online
The 1940 Census is available for free online at:

1940 Census Records at FamilySearch (free; indexed for all states and some territories)

Information Given in the 1940 Census
For a summary of the information given in the 1940 Census see:
Compact Guide to the 1940 Census

You can read the detailed instructions given to the census enumerators here:
1940 Census: Instructions to Enumerators 

Blank 1940 Census Form
The U.S. Census Bureau has a high resolution PDF of a blank 1940 census form. You can download it from:
Blank 1940 Census Form

This post was updated on 17 September 2012.