FamilySearch Announces 1950 US Census Project & Call for Volunteers

 

1950 US Census: The Next Big Thing in Family History

Online Volunteers Will Make Historic 1950 US Census Searchable Online

 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—FamilySearch International today announced its participation in the 1950 US Census Community Project. FamilySearch is inviting online volunteers to assist in making the 1950 US census easier for everyone to search and discover their family connections—while having the opportunity to make personal discoveries of their own. This unique crowdsourcing project, the largest census undertaking to date, will make the 150 million records of the individuals found on the census’s tens of thousands of digital images searchable online.

WHY THE 1950 US CENSUS?

The US census collections are some of the most popular online databases used by millions of people for family history research. Most people in the US today can remember an ancestor who can be found in the 1950 US census.

On April 1, 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States will make digital images of the 1950 US census available to the world. Protected by law for 72 years, this long-awaited census will be the most comprehensive record set available of those who were living in that historic era in the United States. The 1950 US Census Community Project is a national collaborative effort that uses the Internet, artificial intelligence, and a massive volunteer workforce to make these census records searchable online.

The outcome of this amazing initiative benefits everyone. Not only will every page of the 1950 US census be digitally preserved forever, but the general public will have convenient access to volumes of rich historical information that could provide the missing links to their own family histories.

WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION DOES THE 1950 US CENSUS CONTAIN?

The 1950 US census included the obvious questions such as name, age, gender, race, education, and place of birth. But the census also posed more detailed questions that will cast refreshing light on the preceding decade—which included World War II and the return of US troops. For example, those over age 14 were asked, “What was this person doing most of last week—working, keeping house, or something else?” and “What is the highest grade of school that the person has attended?”

Enthusiasm and interest in the 1950 census have been building steadily since the release of the 1940 census in 2012. These new records will introduce us to the 40,000,000 people born during this era of baby boomers. But this postwar decade wasn’t just prosperous for newborns. It also ushered in the civil rights movement, rock ’n’ roll, suburban living, and a wave of colorful innovations. Many of the powerful voices and inspired minds behind these changes will be found in the 1950 census—like 14 past and future U.S. Presidents, vocalist Aretha Franklin and actors Chuck Norris and Jimmy Stewart.

The 1950 US Census Community Project is receiving additional support from Ancestry and leading societal organizations to engage and coordinate the volunteer workforce needed to deliver the ambitious 1950 US census project.

Although the 1950 US census is notably larger than the 1940 US census, thanks to advancements in technology, the anticipated help of online volunteers, and community support, the project is expected to be completed in a few months following the census’s release by NARA.

THE ROLE OF ONLINE VOLUNTEERS

Ancestry will use state-of-the-art handwriting recognition technology to scan the census images and make a functioning searchable index. Online volunteers on FamilySearch.org will then be able to find a surname or location of personal interest to them as a starting point to perform a comprehensive review of the computer-generated index to ensure it is accurate and complete. To stay on top of the 1950 US Census Community Project’s updates or to volunteer to help create the rich, searchable index, subscribe at FamilySearch.org/1950census.

Discover your ancestors for free today at FamilySearch.org.

 

Register for RootsTech Connect 2022 (March 3–5) for free and be the first to learn more about these new FamilySearch features.

 

Find and share this announcement in the FamilySearch Newsroom.

 

RELATED

1950 US Census Release Date

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About FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services each month to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

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Improved Color Restoration for Photos on MyHeritage

• By Esther

January 24, 2022

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One year ago, we released Color Restoration, which beautifully restores the colors in faded color photos. It’s an ideal feature for enhancing scanned photos from the period between the 1950s to the 1990s that were originally taken in color, but have faded over the years.

We’re happy to announce that we recently deployed a better version (i.e., model) of the color restoration technology, that is now set as the default model. The technology for color restoration is based on Deep Learning and was licensed by us from DeOldify.

The new model provides more realistic colors, as you will see in the examples below.

See the magic at work

Here’s an example of the new model at work from our CEO and Founder Gilad Japhet’s childhood photo collection.

Original… Faded photo of Gilad’s sisters, taken on a family vacation in Greece in the 1970s. This photo was scanned from one of Gilad’s family’s photo albums, its colors are almost gone!

Better… Improved with the former version of color restoration on MyHeritage.

Best… Now improved with the new version of color restoration on MyHeritage!

One more example:

Original… Photo of Gilad taken in the same vacation in the 1970s

Better… Improved with the former version of color restoration on MyHeritage

Now improved with the new version of color restoration on MyHeritage!

Quick reminder: How to restore the colors of your photos

The details are available in our previous blog post. However, we’ve summarized them quickly below for your convenience.

For new users

To restore the colors in your faded photos, visit myheritage.com/incolor. Click “Upload photo” to choose a file from your computer. Or, drag and drop a photo of your choice onto the page.

You’ll be asked to sign up to MyHeritage to restore the colors in your photos. Signing up is free. If you already have a MyHeritage account, and you aren’t logged in, simply select the “Log in” option on the bottom of the popup.

Once you upload your faded photo, MyHeritage will detect whether the photo was originally taken in color and if so, its colors will be restored. This process typically takes between 3 to 10 seconds, depending on the size and level of detail in the photo. If your photo is in black & white, it will be colorized.

For photos already on MyHeritage

If you already have a MyHeritage account and have already uploaded family photos to MyHeritage, you can easily restore any color photo under the photos section. Select “My Photos” from the “Photos” menu to access your photos.

Click any of your photos to view them on the Photo page. If the photo was identified as a color photo, the button with the color wheel icon will display the “Restore colors” option instead of “Colorize.” Click the color wheel icon to restore the colors of your photo.

Choosing which color restoration model to use

By default, any newly restored photos will be color-restored with the new color restoration model (it’s named the “Dec 2021” model)

While we believe that this model will usually produce the best results, there are some cases where one of the previous models may work better. You can always select a different model to apply to the photo.

To open the photo settings panel, click one of the photos you’ve colorized, to visit the photo page. Then click the cogwheel icon above the photo, to open the Colorization Settings.

Accessing the Photo Settings

Photo Settings (Click to zoom)

Once you have adjusted any of the settings, the “Preview” button will be enabled, and you’ll be able to click it to preview the new settings. Click and hold the photo to compare the adjusted version with the previous version.

If you’re satisfied with the results, click “Save” to apply the new settings. Your photo will be replaced with a new version restored with the new settings. If you’d rather return to the previous settings, click “Cancel.”

Cost

Users who have a Complete plan with MyHeritage can restore the colors in an unlimited number of photos.

Other users can colorize up to 10 photos and restore the colors in up to 10 additional photos for free. To colorize or restore more photos, a subscription is needed. Non-subscribers will notice a watermark of the MyHeritage logo on the bottom right of their photos, while Complete subscribers will be able to produce colorized and color-restored photos that are logo-free.

Conclusion

The MyHeritage photo tools offer you the chance to breathe new life into historical photos and experience your family history in a whole new way.

The new model for color restoration does an even better job restoring faded family photos to their previous glory, especially when used in combination with the Photo Enhancer on MyHeritage. When color restoration is applied, the original photo is left intact and a separate copy is created with the restored colors. You can take advantage of the new color restoration model both on the MyHeritage website and on the mobile app.

Try it today with your own faded color family photos from the 1950s to the 1990s. The results will delight you and we’re sure you will rush to share them with your loved ones.

Colorize, enhance, and restore your old family photos now

Enjoy!

Tags: color restoration, Photo features, Photo restore, Photo Restorer, Restore photos

 

MyHeritage Adds Table View

MyHeritage has just added a new view for your search results on the MyHeritage search engine for historical records. This new view, called Table view, makes it easier than ever to review your results and quickly spot the records of particular value to your research. 

Table view is more condensed than the classic Card view: its tabular format displays more results per page and helps you identify relevant results more easily.

You can read more details about this view and how it works here on our blog. Feel free to use the attached graphic and spread the news — I’m confident that genealogy enthusiasts everywhere will appreciate this new, improved research experience on MyHeritage.

Enjoy!

Daniel Horowitz

Genealogy Expert

MyHeritage Ltd., P.O.Box 50, 3 Ariel Sharon Blvd., Or Yehuda, Israel 6037606, Israel, +972-3-6280000