The year is 1930. Most Kansans live on family farms and, for
the most part, they prosper. Because
of its agricultural base, most Kansans had not been greatly impacted by "Black
Tuesday," the stock market crash that had occurred a few months before in
October 1929.
Around the nation, construction
is just beginning on the Empire State Building in New York. America is entering
the Golden Age of Radio. Several Kansas
people are famous. Newspaper editor
William Allen White is known as the "Sage of Emporia" for his outspoken editorials.
Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas is vice president, the only American
Indian to serve in that office. Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across
the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. John R.
"Doc" Brinkley becomes known as the "goat gland doctor", a broadcaster, and
nearly wins the gubernatorial election as a write-in candidate.
Kansans stand at a crossroads.
The prosperity will soon end with the Dust Bowl.
The long drought will force many Kansas families begin to pack their
cars, tie their few possessions on their backs, and seek work in the agricultural
fields or cities of the West - their role as independent landowners gone forever.
From 1929-1932 the income of
the average American family is reduced by 40 percent, from $2,300 to $1,500. The population drops from 1,881,000 in 1930
to 1,801,000 in 1940. In 1930, 61
percent of the population is classified as rural. That number drops to 58 percent by 1940.
The year 1930 also marked the
Fifteenth Decennial Census of the United States. Released to the public after
72 years, the 1930 Census offers a rich resource for historians and genealogists.
More than 137 million individuals were enumerated in the nation, 1,851,024
within Kansas' 105 counties. The 1930
Kansas Census will soon be available on microfilm at the Center for Historical
Research in Topeka.
The census contains information for individuals such as name, address, age,
sex, race, marital status, age at first marriage and relationship to the head
of the family. Enumerators included education, place of birth,
place of parents' birth, employment or occupation, and whether the home was
owned or rented. They identified veterans
and the war in which war they served. They
also identified who owned a radio.
The 1930 census contains information for individuals
such as name, address, age, sex, race, marital status, age at first marriage
and relationship to the head of the family. Enumerators included education, place of birth,
place of parents' birth, employment or occupation, and whether the home was
owned or rented. They identified veterans
and the war in which war they served. They
also identified who owned a radio.
Because the 1930 Kansas Census was not indexed, researchers will first want
to identify specific locations to search. The research center offers city directories
for many cities in 1930. These directories
can provide a street address that will help researchers locate the census
enumeration district to narrow the search. Census for other states can be rented through the National Archives,
Census Microfilm Rental Program, PO Box 30, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0030.
The National Archives has a 1930 microfilm locator online at http://1930
census.archives.gov.
The Center for Historical Research,
open 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday, at the Kansas History Center,
6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681; TTY 785-272-8683;
www.kshs.org.
