I spent some time updating earlier info on the blog that has to do with Homer Ross Robertson and Elisha Milford Robertson's grave site, so be sure to check back in the March 2012 posts for the new information.
Tonight, I'm going to go over the 1940 Census information for my father, Buddy Harms and his father, Leo Harms and mother Fern. My previous post explains how I was able to find them on the un-indexed 1940 Census, and on this post I'll see what information that Census gives me!
My dad's family was living in Kansas City, Jackson County, MO when the 1940 Census was taken. It looks like they might have been living in an apartment building, or more probably a home with 4 rental units. The address above their name is 3321 Holmes Street in Kansas City, MO...and there are four different family units listed under that house number. The next house number listed is 3319 and it is a home owned by Augusta Sutter. Leo and Fern rented their apartment and paid $18 a month for it.
Leo has an X by his name, indicating that he was the one giving the information on this census. His name is listed as Leo Harms, with his wife Fern and son Buddy L. Leo was 29 at his last birthday, Fern was 25 and Buddy was 6, so Fern had my dad when she was 19 years old. It just occurred to me.....where's my dad's brother - my Uncle Dick? His name is Leo Richard Harms, but we've always called him Uncle Dick. He was born in 1936, so why isn't he on this census?? He should be 4 years old here. I know he lived because he's alive today. I'll have to look into that!
Schooling: On this census they asked 'highest grade of school completed'. Leo was H1 (1 year of High School, I think) and Fern was H2 (2 years of High School). This was pretty normal back then. Buddy (dad) was attending school, but it gives 0 for highest grade completed, so I think he was probably in kindergarten, if they did kindergarten...or first grade if they didn't. This would have been his first year of school.
All 3 of them were listed as born in Missouri, which I already knew. The 1940 Census asks where you were living on April 1, 1935. Dad would have been 1 then, and they are listed as living in a rural area (R) - a place with a population less than 2500, in DeKalb County, Missouri. However, they did not live on a farm.
At first I thought that they might have lived in Braymer, MO in 1935. That's where my father was born in 1934 and it's very possible that they still lived there. Braymer was a small town then and it's still a small town today.
But when I googled the county, Braymer is in Caldwell county, Missouri, not DeKalb County like it states on the Census. So they must have moved away from Braymer sometime between dad's birth and his first birthday. Uncle Dick, dad's brother (Leo Richard Harms) was born in Fairport, DeKalb, Mo in 1936, so maybe they moved there right after they left Braymer and lived there in 1935.
Work: Both Leo and Fern worked in 1940. The census asks if each person was employed during the week of March 24-30th and they both said YES. Leo worked as a barber and put in 60 hours that week. Fern worked as a saleslady at the 5-10 cent store (the five and dime) and she worked 52 hours that week. That's a lot of hours! I wonder who took care of my father while his mom was at work?? He went to school, but if she put in 52 hours....well, maybe she worked on the weekends, too. The census asks the number of weeks worked in 1939 and Leo worked 49 of the 52 weeks that year. Fern worked 0 weeks in 1939, so working was a newer thing for her. Leo's total income in 1939 was $735.00 and he had no other income - Fern's was zero.
I googled their address in 1940 - 3321 Holmes Street, Kansas City, Mo and found the house. It looks like it could have been original to when they lived there. It's in good shape today. I tried to copy a picture to put here, but couldn't figure out how to do it from google maps. But if you google the address, you'll find it. It has a red door and if you zoom in you can see the address just above the front steps. The house to the left is 3319.
I knew my grandfather Leo was a barber, so this just verifies that for me. I think he eventually had his own barber shop and I think I remember that my Uncle Dick used to work there, too, before he moved with his family to Las Vegas, but I'll have to check with him on that. Maybe he has a picture! I remember a picture....maybe he has it. It's really bugging me that Uncle Dick isn't on this 1940 census with the rest of his family. I'll have to ask him about it, and if he doesn't know or remember, I'll have to search for him in the 1940 census when it's finally indexed. Maybe he was staying with family because Fern had to work?? And maybe they kept Buddy with them because he was in school while she worked? I'll let you know if I find any of these answers!
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