Index to the 1930 U. S. Census for Clermont County, Ohio
Indexed from microfilm volumes 1757 and 1758 by
Margie Thomas, Pam Smith, and Jennie Marshall, 2005

According to a rule established in 1952. The U. S. Census Bureau could not release data from the 1930 census for 72 years from the official census day. And, still, when microfilm copies of those records were made available in April of 2002, there was no name index to help locate an individual. The National Archives provided Soundex for only 12 southern states. For all remaining states, a researcher needed to locate his ancestor's address using city directories and then use a microfilm that locates street addresses by enumeration district. Once the enumeration district was determined, the researcher still had to scan the entries in that district, page after page. to find the street and then his ancestor. What a time-consuming process!

On 5 March, 2003, CCGS received their previously ordered and long-awaited microfilms of the 1930 census for Clermont County. After all that time and anticipation, we were disappointed to find that they were not readable and had to be sent back. Again, we waited. When the readable replacements arrived in the summer, Margie Thomas and Jennie Marshall went to work. Using home microfilm readers. Margie copied the head of household name, page, and village or township. Jennie checked all of Margie's work. What they could not read, they took to the library in Batavia to view on better microfilm readers. Over a year later, when they had copied and proofread the entire county, they checked it all again. Then. Pam Smith volunteered to enter it all into a computer and alphabetize it. She finished the 10,080 listings on 250 pages in a very short time!

Although indexes have been put together by subscription sites on the internet, they were done quickly by people who are unfamiliar with the county's residents. Predictably, it may contain many inaccuracies. We are fortunate that Margie Thomas, Jennie Marshall, and Pam Smith are all familiar with Clermont County Genealogy and surnames. Sometimes the handwriting was so difficult to read that all three studied the names, compared their guesses against names in other resources for the given area, including a previous census. When any doubt remained, the name was listed under multiple possibilities. We are deeply indebted to these three very dedicated ladies. They have given countless hours of their own time to benefit every Clermont County researcher. Thank you, Margie, Jennie, and Pam. Your generosity and commitment are inspirational!

Sincerely,
Amy Schneider, President (2004-2005)
Clermont County Genealogical Society.