1930 Census
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Introduction
The 1930 census was the 15th Census of the United States. The data obtained in this census was mostly the same as 1920, though a few columns are rearranged. There were no major improvements. One small improvement is that they include the age each married person was when the first married.
The 1930 census was taken state by state, and county by county, and township by township. In 1930, the records were left in the original order the census taker visited each household, which is very useful to determine who a persons neighbors were. If you see three Watson families listed side by side, you can reasonably assume they are somehow related. Of course there are always cases where they appear to be "side by side," but were not close together at all, depending on how the census taker visited houses.
You can determine an approximate birth year for a person based on their age as given on this census. For example, someone reported as age 25 in 1930 was born ca 1905 or 1904. You can also determine an approximate marriage year for a married couple listed in the 1930 census. It should be mentioned that the marriage years given in 1930 and other census records are not always correct. This all depends on who gave the census taker the information.
Each person was listed by household including name, ages and other information for each person. I will explain what each column represents in detail below.
The census was as of 1 April 1930, meaning all data collected (even if collected months after that date) was supposed to reflect the family’s condition on 1 Apr 1930, meaning all ages were to be listed how they were back on April 1, even if it was three months later when the census taker asked. It isn't known if the census taker adhered to this rule or not, but that is what they were supposed to do. The actual date he visited the households was included at the top of each page, so you can use that to determine whether the data was as of 1 April or a later date.
Each "page" of the 1930 census was actually two pages. The second page had no stamped number, and is usually designated by the page number of the previous page plus the letter "B." For example, page 75A and 75B. The 1930 census pages also have a "sheet" number which starts over with each township.
The 1930 census had a header at the top of each page with information on the county, the district, the date and other information. It is arranged a little differently from previous censuses:
State: This is the State name or Territory name.
County: This is the County name or Parish name (Louisiana)
Township or other division of county: Anything listed here indicates Township or District within the county.
Incorporated place. This is the name of the City, Town, Village, etc.
Ward of City: If the city is divided into wards, the ward number or designation would be listed here.
Block No: If a Ward is listed, the block number goes here.
Unincorporated Place: The name of any unincorporated community with 200 or more people.
Institution: This is for Schools, Prisons, Hospitals, Mental Institutions and other such places where numerous people would be found.
Enumeration District No. This is the E.D. number that normally corresponds to a township or other county or city division.
Supervisor’s District No. This is a number showing the Census Supervisor’s District Number.
Sheet No. This is like a page number which starts over with each new Enumeration District. The number is written under the heading, and not next to it as in other cases.
A, B. After the sheet number is a stamped letter that starts A on one page, B on the next, then it starts over. Use these in conjunction with the stamped page number for page number references.
Page Number. Near the upper right is a stamped page number (on alternating pages).
Enumerated by me on the __ day of ___, 1930. This is the date the census taker actually visited the households listed on this page. You can see that this date can be months after 1 Apr 1930 when the census was as of.
Enumerator. This is the name of the person who took the census.
The columns for the 1930 census follow:
Place of Abode: Street, Avenue, Road, etc. If within a City or Town, the street name is given.
House Number (in cities or towns) If within a City or Town, the house number is given.
Number of Dwelling house in the order of visitation. This is what I refer to as the "Household Number." Each house was numbered consecutively. If more than one family group lived in the same house, the family number would be different, but the household number would be the same. (This is not a "House Number" like you would have on your door, but a number assigned by the census taker only for this census).
Number of Family in the order of visitation. This is what I refer to as the "Family Number." Each family was numbered consecutively. If more than one family group lived in the same house, each family would have a different family number (this isn't always true), but the household number would be the same.
Name of each Person whose place of abode on April 1, 1930 was in this family. This is the name of each individual living in this house or family. The family members are usually listed in this order: Husband, wife, all children by age, parents, brothers, sisters, etc. This isn't a rule, just a general way you find it.
Relationship of this person to the head of the family. This column gives the relationship of each person to the primary person (head of household). You will see Wife, Son, Daughter, Grandson, Granddaughter, Niece, Nephew, etc. If a person isn't related, it will either say None, or Hired, or Servant, or something like that. Sometimes it is left blank for those not related.
Home Owned or Rented. Marked with O for owned, R for rented.
Value of home, if owned or monthly rental, if rented. The dollar amount would be listed here.
Radio Set. Yes or No if this family has a Radio.
Does this family live on a farm? Yes or No.
Sex. M=Male, F=Female.
Color or Race. The race of each person.
Age at last birthday. The age in years of each person as of April 1, 1930. If under 1, it is given in fractions of 12, as in 4/12, meaning 4 months.
Marital Condition. The marital status was listed here, (S, M, W, or D).
Age at first marriage. The age of each person when they were first married (where applicable). If the ages of a married couple don’t compute to the same approximate marriage date, then one or both of them may have been married previous to this marriage.
Attended School or college anytime since September 1, 1929. Yes or no.
Whether able to read and write. Yes or no.
Place of Birth of this person. Place of birth of each person, usually just the state or country.
Place of Birth of the Father of this person. Place of birth of each person's father, usually just the state or country.
Place of Birth of the Mother of this person. Place of birth of each person's mother, usually just the state or country.
Language spoken in home before coming to the United States. If the person is an immigrant, then their native language will be listed here.
NOTE: There is a Code column here marked A, B and C, says For office use only
Year of Immigration to the United States. If the person is an immigrant, what year did they arrive here.
Naturalization. Is this person a naturalized citizen?
Whether able to speak English. Yes or No would be entered here.
Occupation: Trade, Profession of, or particular kind of work done, as spinner, salesman, riveter, teacher, etc. Self explanatory.
Industry or business as cotton mill, dry goods store, ship yard, public school, etc. Self explanatory.
NOTE: There is a Code column here: For office use only
Class of Worker. E=Employer, W=Wage Earner, NP=Not Paid
Whether actually at work yesterday (or the last regular working day). Yes or No.
If not, line number on Unemployment Schedule. Anyone who was unemployed was also listed on a separate census schedule just for unemployment. That line number is listed here.
Whether a veteran of U.S. Military or Naval forces. Yes or No.
What War or expedition? If a veteran, details would be listed here (though not much room for any real details).
Number of Farm Schedule. If this person was a farmer, they are also listed on a separate farm schedule for the census. The number of their entry on that schedule is listed in this column.