More than 100,000 census takers went door to door to produce the 1940 Census, a snapshot of America as the Great Depression wound down and the country verged on entering World War II. Seven decades later, that census data -- 3.8 million images scanned from more than 4,000 rolls of microfilm -- is available at the click of a mouse to anyone who desires to fill in the branches of the family tree. Finding out who we are and where we came from.

Ann Sindelar, Reference Supervisor, Western Reserve Historical Society

Margaret Cheney, State Coordinator for Ohio Genealogical Society for the 1940 Census, Ohio Genealogical Society

Dr. Deborah Abbott, Adjunct Professor at Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research