The Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society will throw a birthday party to celebrate the release of the 1940  U. S. Census
The event is at 7 p.m. April 23  in the Community Room of the Webster Memorial Library in Decatur.
The evening will focus on the release of the cenuss material and its impact on the genealogical community.  The United States government has been taking a population census every 10 years since 1790.  By law, each census is to be released 72 years after it is taken.  Even though it was not intended as a genealogical tool, it has become the most important and sought after resource for genealogists and family historians across the county.  The last census released to the public was the 1930 Census in 2002 and the 1950 will not be released at least until 2022.
The evening’s program beings with an introduction      by Toni I. Benson, the local history/genealogy librarian for Webster Memorial Library. Benson will present  short video items about the 1940 Census and then the guest speaker, James N. Jackson, a former VBRGS program presenter, will present his talk on the 1940 U.S. Census. Jackson has presented talks to many local and national societies and conferences. He holds memberships in the Association of Professional Genealogists and Genealogical Speakers Guild.
The main program will be followed by two short videos; “Ancestry.com Introduces the 1940 U.S. Census,” and “Using Steve Morse’s One-Step Site to Get Ready for the 1940 Census.”
The evening will conclude with a demonstration of Steve Morse’s One-Step Site, how to access the online images, handouts, and a question and answer session.
There will be a “Family History Essentials Class” beginning at 6:00 p.m. with Mr. Jackson as presenter.  It is entitled “Using U.S. Census Records.”  As always the evening is free and everyone is welcome to attend both programs.   We are looking forward to having you join us for this very important and informative evening.
For more information about the event or the society please contact Ann Flora at 269-684-1353, email questions to vbrgs@yahoo.com or visit our website at www.vbrgs.org.