2022 01 1950 CensusDAVIE DOSSIER
Issued by
Davie County Historical and Genealogical Society
Mocksville, North Carolina
January 2022, Issue 1
1950 U. S. CENSUS
Coming Soon to a Computer Near You!!
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 1
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
President, Linda Leonard
Vice President, Marcia Phillips
Secretary, Pat Mason
Treasurer, Marie Craig
Board of Directors, Claude Horn
Dossier Editor, Marie Craig
Webmaster, Marie Craig
Websites for Davie County Research:
Our Website:https://sites.google.com/view/dchgs .
Description of books and maps for sale:https://sites.google.com/view/dchgsbooksmaps
Historical Data to research:http://www.daviecountync.gov/440/Genealogy-Local-History .
FamilySearch Wiki for Davie:
http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Davie_County%2C_North_Carolina
FamilySearch records for Davie:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=191015&query=%2Bplace%3A%22United%2
0States%2C%20North%20Carolina%2C%20Davie%22
Davie County GenWeb:http://ncgenweb.us/davie/
Davie County Public Library:http://www.daviecountync.gov/440/Genealogy-Local-History .
Genealogy data in newspapers, Bibles, Daniel Boone Family info, church history, and Flossie Martin records.
Back issues (1987-2016) and index of the Davie Dossier are online at
http://www.daviecountync.gov/440/Genealogy-Local-History .
FindAGrave for Davie County:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/search?name=&locationId=county_1680&page=1#cem-2640813
Digital Davie:https://www.digitalnc.org/exhibits/digital-davie/
Cemeteries in Davie:http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/davie/
Meetings are supposed to be on the fourth Thursdays at 7 pm at Davie County Library History Room.
CONFERENCES
National Genealogical Society:24-28 May 2022, Sacramento CA; “Our American Mosaic”
See https://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/. (NGS has merged with Federation of Genealogical Societies.)
RootsTech:3-5 March 2022, online only, free. See https://www.rootstech.org. Archived online from last year.
North Carolina Genealogical Society has webinars on Wednesdays.https://www.ncgenealogy.org/webinars/
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 2
How to Prepare for Using the 1950 Census:
The official date of the 1950 US Census was April 1. Answers on the census relate to that date. They are not
released for public viewing until 72 years have passed. So, this 1 April 2022 date will release the records for us
to research, ponder, and remember. However, an index will not appear on this date. Paid typists and volunteers
will read the already digitized 1950 census, and then it will be uploaded to the Internet. In previous releases, an
index has been produced by viewing microfilm.
While researchers cannot access these records yet, they can begin preparing for the release of the census.
Kluskens suggests collecting addresses or residence areas for people of interest. City directories, which give
addresses for households in cities, can be found online on various commercial and library websites.
Some information,like 1950 census enumeration district maps, is already available in the online Catalog.
“Researchers can use modern maps to orient themselves to where those addresses/locations are (or were), and
then consult the enumeration district
[ED] maps and descriptions to determine which EDs they will need to research,” said Kluskens.
Enumeration district descriptions will also be available in the National Archives Catalog after staff itemize
them. In the meantime, enumeration district descriptions and other tools are available on https://stevemorse.org/.
In Depth Study of the 1950 Census:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/decennial-publications.1950.html
Questions asked on the 1950 Census
https://lisalouisecooke.com/2021/04/21/questions-asked-1950-us-census/
The following questions were asked of everyone in the household.
1. Name of street, avenue or road where the household is located
2. Home or apartment number
3. Serial number of dwelling unit
4. Is this house on a farm (or ranch)?
5. If no, is this house on a place of three or more acres? (New question for 1950 thanks to the expansion of suburbia.)
6. Corresponding agriculture questionnaire number
7. Name
8. Relationship to head
9. Race
Census takers were instructed to assume that all members of the related household were the same race. For unrelated
people they were to ask. And if you see a description you are unfamiliar with, consult the 1950 census enumerator
instructions.)
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 3
10. Sex
11. How old was this person on his last birthday?
It was expected that there would be some folks who either didn’t know their exact age or didn’t care to share it. Census
takers were instructed to try to zero in and get as accurate as possible. If age wasn’t known, they were instructed to enter
an estimate as the very last resort, and footnote that it was an estimate.
12. Is this person now married, widowed, divorced, separated, or never married?
Marriage codes found in this column:
MAR = married
WD = widowed
D = divorced
SEP = separated
NEV = never married. People under the age of 14 were automatically labeled as never married. Also, common-law
marriages were reported as Married, so while marital status can be an indicator to look for marriage records, it is possible
that there may not be any.
13. What State or country was the person born in?
It’s important to note that if the baby was born in a hospital across the state line, they were reported as being born in the
state where the family lived. This is important to keep in mind when hunting for birth certificates.
14. If foreign born, is the person naturalized?
This will be a yes or no. But if you see “AP” it means the person was born of American parents abroad or at sea. Also, if
born at sea they were an American citizen if their father was, or if they were born after 5/24/1934 and either parent was
American.
Sample of 1950 Census Blank Page
https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1950_population_questionnaire.pdf
Enumerators Instructions
https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/census_instructions/1950_instructions.html
24 pages!
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 4
THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS IN 1950
There were two newspapers in Davie County in
1950.The Mocksville Enterprise was for the Democrats,
and The Davie Record was for Republicans. Reading
these newspapers online now on the Library Website is
such a wonderful tool for research.
In 1950, the November issues of The Mocksville
Enterprise had many advertisements, much as
current-day media. Blackwelder-Smoot store on
Wilkesboro Street featured food items for the holidays.
Martin Brothers store near the depot, phone 99, listed an
ad for a deep freeze so that you wouldn’t have to stand in
line at the freezer locker building. C.J. Angell
Appliance Store on North Main Street was selling a
Crosley TV for $209.95. Heffner and Bolick’s Grocery
(“on the square”) was selling a pound of cranberries for
21 cents, a dozen oranges for 29 cents, and turkeys for
the holidays at 59 cents per pound. Western Auto store,
owned by George Rowland, phone 51, advertised a
layaway now plan with a promise to deliver the items to
you on Christmas Eve. It was located at the inner
southwest corner of the square. There was also a
Firestone store, a BF Goodrich store (“home of Santa
Claus”) on Salisbury Street, C.C. Sanford on the square,
and a Wallace dime store near the square. All had ads
for gifts for Christmas.
The December 1950 issues of The Davie Record
had similar ads for holiday food and Christmas gifts.
This was before credit cards, so purchases had to be
planned carefully in advance. Layaway plans were vital
as people didn’t have as much petty cash as today. This
was just five years after the end of World War Two, so
residents were still remembering lean times with
rationing. Gifts seemed to be of the practical sort. Other
interesting ads in the paper were for Vicks Vaporub in
cold season and Sano Cigarettes with less than 1%
nicotine. The Princess Theatre had four different movies
per week. The Davie Drive-in Theatre (near the present
community college) had space reserved for trucks, with
double features on Friday and Saturday nights. Most
places seemed to be closed on Sundays. Wilkins Drug
Store on the Square was the Greyhound Bus Station. An
ad listed prices for coming home for Christmas. A bus
ride from New York City cost $11.25.
These holidays seem to be much less involved
than our current celebrations. It was a different way of
life seventy-two years ago. Many things have changed
through the years. But, the Republicans and the
Democrats were of different minds and didn’t seem to
want to compromise. But I guess you already knew that.
1950 SUMMARY
President: Harry S. Truman
N.C. Governor: W. Kerr Scott
US Population: 152.3 million
Average Annual Income: $3,300
A new car: $2,200
First class stamp: $0.03
A loaf of bread: $0.12
A gallon of milk: $0.83
A gallon of gasoline: $0.27
First credit card: Diners Club card
Popular songs: Mona Lisa, The Thing, Third Man
Theme, Harbor Lights
Movies: Sunset Boulevard, Father of the Bride, The
Asphalt Jungle, At War with the Army
Technology: Zenith Radio Corp. created the first TV
remote control called the Lazy Bone
The Korean War began when North Korea invaded
South Korea
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 5
from https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/overview/1950.html
Enumeration
The 1950 census encompassed the continental United
States, the territories of Alaska and Hawaii, American
Samoa, the Canal Zone, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands of the United States, and some of the smaller
island territories.
Americans abroad were enumerated for the first time in
1950. Provisions were made to count members of the
armed forces, crews of vessels, and employees of the
United States government living in foreign countries,
along with any members of their families also abroad.
This enumeration was carried out through cooperative
arrangements with the departments of Defense and State,
the United States Maritime Administration and other
federal agencies that took responsibility for distributing
and collecting specially designed questionnaires.
Other persons living abroad were to be reported by their
families or neighbors in the United States, but the quality
of these data was considered to be poor and they were
not included in the published statistics.
A new survey on residential financing was conducted as
part of the 1950 census. In a separate operation,
information was collected on a sample basis from
owners of owner-occupied and rental properties and
mortgage lenders.
Efforts to Improve Coverage and Completeness
Several procedures were used to improve the accuracy
and completeness of the 1950 census, including:
improved enumerator training, providing enumerators
with detailed street maps of their assigned areas,
publishing "Missed Person" forms in local newspapers,
and setting a specific night to conduct a special
enumeration of persons in hotels, tourist courts, and
other places frequented by transients.
For the first time, a post-enumeration survey was
instituted as a further check on the accuracy and
completeness of the count. The Census Bureau
recanvassed a sample of about 3,500 small areas and
compared these to the original census listings to identify
households that may have been omitted in the original
enumeration. In addition, a sample of about 22,000
households was reinterviewed to determine the number
of persons likely omitted in the initial count.
Technological Advancement
The Census Bureau began use of the first non-military
computer shortly after completing the 1950 enumeration.
UNIVAC I (for Universal Automatic Computer), the first
of a series, was delivered in 1951, and helped tabulate
some of the statistics for the 1954 economic censuses. It
weighed 16,000 pounds and used 5,000 vacuum tubes.
Blessing
At a national genealogical conference, I
attended a class about in depth study of the US
Census. At the very end of his interesting
lecture, he said, “I give you a parting blessing
that you will live long enough to find yourself on
a US Census.”
If you weren’t old enough to qualify for the 1940
Census, perhaps you’ll appear on the 1950
Census. It will be a meaningful experience as
you gaze on your own name and ponder your life
on 1 April 1950.
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 6
BOOKS AND MAPS FOR SALE, prices include postage and tax; check to DCHGS (no cash or credit card)
Description of books and maps for Davie:https://sites.google.com/view/dchgsbooksmaps
Title Author Total Cost #Cost
Davie County. A Brief History,paperback James W. Wall, 128 pages $6.50
The Boone Families in Davie County Wall, Howell Boone, Flossie Martin $8.00
Davie County Marriages 1836-1900 Nancy K. Murphy $25.00
Davie County Marriages 1901-1959 Nancy K. Murphy $25.00
Davie County Cemeteries, a 2-volume set D.C. Historical/Gen. Soc.$55.00
1850 Federal Census-Davie County Forsyth Genealogical Society $15.00
1860 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K. Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00
1870 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K. Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00
POSTCARDS OF DAVIE CO. SCENES, (set of 8)$2.50
Maps:Prices below, postage is $5, mailing tube is $2; example: all 4 maps cost $12
Lagle Land Grant Map, $2
Hughes Historical Map, 1700's,drawn in 1977, $1
J.T. Alderman Map ,1887, $1
Wilson F. Merrell Map, 1928, $1
Davie County Heritage Book,cost is $45; Make check to Davie Co. Heritage Book. Use DCHGS address below.
The Historic Architecture of Davie County ,$13;History of Davie County, hardback, by James W. Wall ,$13.
Make check to Davie County Public Library. Use DCHGS address below.
Davie County History Books by Marie Craig.Check to Marie Craig, 139 Sterling Dr., Mocksville NC 27028:
. History of Davie County Schools, 318 pages, has photos, locations, longitude/latitude, names of students, and teachers. There
is an 18 page index of 3,222 names. 318 pages. $43
. Davie County in World War One,670 biographies of Davie men and women who served, photographs, old letters,
description of military bases, and extensive index. 400 pages. $45
. Davie County Veterans’ Memorial , has lists of all war deaths, biographies and photos of WW2, Korean, Vietnam, and Beirut
Bombing deaths. Tom Ferebee’s talk at the dedication in 1987. 190 pages. $33.
. Remembering Davie County Protection and Service Personnel,contains biographies of the five law enforcement personnel
who died on duty and also photos and descriptions of the monu
ment erected in their memory. The monument also honors all first responders in Davie Co. Paperback, 14 pages. $17.
. Davie County in the Spanish-American War,contains biographies of the 15 men who served in this war and the resulting
war in the Philippines. 65 pages. $20
. Mary Ellen’s Diary,1924,the fictitious diary of a twelve year old girl in 1924 in Mocksville. Included are clippings and
illustrations to verify the events. Paperback. 49 pages. $15.
. Composite Index of Davie County History Books.The indexes of 16 Davie County history books are combined. 17,000
entries. Order from: Lulu.com. Search for book title.
Looking Back at Davie County II by Charles Crenshaw and Ron Smith. $45. Mail orders to Charles Crenshaw, 421 Park
Avenue, Mocksville NC 27028
Davie County Mavericks, Four Men Who Changed History by Marcia Phillips, Daniel Boone, Hinton Helper, Thomas
Ferebee, and Peter Ney in Davie County. $25. Mail orders: Marcia Phillips, 315 McClamrock Road, Mocksville NC 27028.
Eatons Baptist Church Cemetery in Davie County, North Carolina by Pat Mason. A new book which lists all burials
through June 2020. Dates, obituaries and articles are included. $30. Pat Mason, 295 Griffith Rd., Advance NC 27006.
DCHGS, 371 North Main Street, Mocksville NC 27028
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 7
Davie County Historical and Genealogical Society
371 North Main Street
Mocksville NC 27028
If you would like to receive your Dossier as a PDF attachment in an E-mail instead of a paper copy,
please send an E-mail message to the editor at dchgslist@gmail.com.
Please state “E-mail my Dossier instead of mailing a paper copy” and include your E-mail address. This
saves money, time, postage, effort, and paper.
The number beside your name, above, shows the year for which you last paid $5 dues. Example: if you have a 21 by your
name, you have paid dues through 2021.DUES CAN BE PAID FOR 2022 NOW.
MEMBERSHIP for a calendar year is still just $5.00/year.Life Membership is $100 per person.
We are 501(c)(3) and dues are tax deductible.
Below is a registration form for your use; checks, payable to the Society.
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (DCHGS)
Davie County Public Library, 371 Main Street
Mocksville, North Carolina 27028
NAME ________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________
Send my copy by E-mail instead of paper; yes, no
Davie Dossier, January 2022 page 8