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How do I search for military service members who live on base in the 1950 Census?

Karen Pugh

I am looking for a military family who lived on Base in Maryland but was not in Barracks housing they lived in a single family house and while I can see which Ennumeration district they should be in I am not able to find them.  Any ideas?

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    Karen:  U.S. military personnel stationed at continental United States military bases and other installations were enumerated at those facilities if that was their usual place of residence. Military personnel who lived nearby at private (family) housing were enumerated at their off-base address.

    If you are relying solely on the draft name index, you may have to search a different way.  NARA’s 1950 Census Index was created using machine learning assisted Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which can be inaccurate due to issues such as: illegible handwriting; poor image orientation (i.e., slightly sideways); variations in image quality (i.e., light, dark, or poor contrast); text obscured by handwritten flourishes from letters on the line above or below; different handwriting styles; and because the surnames written only on the line for the head of the household and other persons in the household with a different surname. For more information about this topic, please see:

    https://historyhub.history.gov/community/genealogy/census-records/blog/2022/03/18/1950-census-please-help-nara-refine-the-draft-name-index

    However, you can assist NARA to make our index better by using the easy-to-use transcription tool we provide. This tool enables you to edit and add names to the index. Your transcriptions will increase the accuracy of the name index and make these records more accessible to everyone.

    Instead of using the name index, you can still locate individuals, but using a different search method, namely using the state and county/city search option. To do this, you will need to know the state, county, city, town, etc. within the county. Once you have that information, you can conduct a search at the county level at https://1950census.archives.gov. Look at the Enumeration District (ED) maps provided with the county to help narrow your search. In most counties, if you click on the "ED Maps" icon for any enumeration district you will then be able to see all the maps for the entire county.

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    Karen:  U.S. military personnel stationed at continental United States military bases and other installations were enumerated at those facilities if that was their usual place of residence. Military personnel who lived nearby at private (family) housing were enumerated at their off-base address.

    If you are relying solely on the draft name index, you may have to search a different way.  NARA’s 1950 Census Index was created using machine learning assisted Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which can be inaccurate due to issues such as: illegible handwriting; poor image orientation (i.e., slightly sideways); variations in image quality (i.e., light, dark, or poor contrast); text obscured by handwritten flourishes from letters on the line above or below; different handwriting styles; and because the surnames written only on the line for the head of the household and other persons in the household with a different surname. For more information about this topic, please see:

    https://historyhub.history.gov/community/genealogy/census-records/blog/2022/03/18/1950-census-please-help-nara-refine-the-draft-name-index

    However, you can assist NARA to make our index better by using the easy-to-use transcription tool we provide. This tool enables you to edit and add names to the index. Your transcriptions will increase the accuracy of the name index and make these records more accessible to everyone.

    Instead of using the name index, you can still locate individuals, but using a different search method, namely using the state and county/city search option. To do this, you will need to know the state, county, city, town, etc. within the county. Once you have that information, you can conduct a search at the county level at https://1950census.archives.gov. Look at the Enumeration District (ED) maps provided with the county to help narrow your search. In most counties, if you click on the "ED Maps" icon for any enumeration district you will then be able to see all the maps for the entire county.

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