WC Wisconsin News

This month, census records from more than 72 years ago are becoming public knowledge as they are now compliant with guidelines that must be met before becoming public record. 

Carrie Ronnander, director at the Chippewa Valley Museum, said that the release of the records is a huge benefit for anybody looking to trace back their genealogy and learn about their ancestors.

"You can track what people are doing, and how big the family is, and what kind of work has changed and so you can begin to tell the family story just by putting the different census together," she said.

According to ABC18, the museum waits 72 years before census records become public record due to privacy concerns. 

"They used 72 as an old age, so figuring that over 72 years, many of the adults who would have been living and working, they're going to be passed on. It's only the kids who will still be living when it becomes public," Ronnander said.

Wendy Sullivan, a board member of the Chippewa County Genealogy Society, is very excited at the idea of the census records becoming available for public access.

"You hear stories from your family but when you can actually start researching you can see the census records you can see birth records or just the city directories or maybe a plat book that shows where they lived, it sort of brings it to life," she said.

Sullivan said it has been a struggle to trace her family's history due to a very common maiden name that pops up thousands of times in census records. 

"My maiden name is Smith and I always thought, 'Gosh we'll never ever be able to track them back.' My family came from Iowa and they were farming families and I always assumed that's what they always were, but I've traced both branches back to New England," she said.

Community members will now have access to this vital information to help them trace their family's history and learn more about their roots.