The 1940 Census Community Project is FINISHED

We did it!

The word just received from the 1940 US Census Community Project is just that! It's a really good feeling to have been part of those 160,000 volunteers.

"Today just before 2:00 p.m. (MDT), the very last batch of the 1940 US Census was arbitrated and submitted for publication. The indexing portion of the 1940 US Census Community Project is officially done!

Just look at what we accomplished:

• The project was supposed to take at least six months, yet it was completed in just 124 days—two full months ahead of schedule!

•  An "army" of more than 160,000 volunteers participated. Plainly stated, there is nothing in the annals of the genealogical community that can compare with this achievement.

• Because of the familiarity of the volunteers with the names and places contained in the records, the resulting index is thought to be among the most accurate of any census ever published.

•  Tens of millions of people will benefit for generations. That's quite a legacy!

It will take a few more weeks to complete the quality audit of the remaining states and publish them online for searching; however, the majority of the 1940 US Census records are already searchable online at the sites of the consortium members. Meanwhile, we hope the feelings you have at this moment of accomplishment are satisfying and will motivate you to continue giving. Families are being united across the generations with every name you index or arbitrate."

Visit www.archives.com, www.familysearch.org, or www.findmypast.com for the results of this community effort. Hurray for us. These will be free searches!

A big community celebration will be held on Friday, August 31st in Birmingham, Alabama at the 2012 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference. Click here for details.