1940 U.S. Census to Become Searchable by Name

Americans are in for a cyber-surprise on Wednesday: They’ll be able to plug family names into an online 1940 U.S. census and come up with details about the lives of New Yorkers — from Joe DiMaggio and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy to their own relatives.


Starting after midnight, it will no longer be essential to provide exact addresses from seven decades ago to look for a New York connection.

With names, free searches of the 1940 U.S. census first made public in April will unlock personal information about residents of New York — then the largest U.S. state and an immigrant hub from which people moved all over the country.