A few weeks ago, I decided I needed a break from life and did something random. I had just watched a rerun of The Golden Girls and began to wonder where each of the actresses were in 1940.
I’ve always been a fan of the show, each character, and each actresses. The characters of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia are uniquely individual and I see some of their qualities in me.
I spent a few hours digging around using hints from Wikipedia and other records and eventually found each actress in the 1940 census. While it was great to locate them, it was more interesting learning about their personal lives, which were just as special as the characters they portrayed.
Rue McClanahan – Born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma, to William and Dreda (Medaris) McClanahan in 1934.1 She is found in the 1940 census, at age six, in the household of her parents, living on H Street in Healdton, Oklahoma.2
Betty White – Born Betty Marion White in 1922 in Oak Park, Illinois.3 She is found in the 1940 census, age 18, with her parents, Horace and Tess (Cachikis) White, living on Ayrshire Road in Los Angeles, California.4
Bea Arthur – Born Bernice Frankel in 1922 in New York City, to Philip and Rebecca Frankel.5 In 1940, at age 17, she is living with her parents and sister on Mill Street in Cambridge, Maryland.6
Estelle Getty – Born Estelle Scher in New York City to Charles and Sarah Scher, in 1923. She is found in the 1940 census living with her parents and siblings on 2nd Street in Manhattan.8
Sources
1. “Rue McClanahan,” Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_McClanahan : accessed 28 May 2012).
2. 1940 U.S. census, population schedule, Healdton, Carter County, Oklahoma, enumeration district (ED) 60-221A, sheet 21A, family 425, Horace L White; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, 4,643 rolls.
3. “Betty White,” Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_White : accessed 28 May 2012).
4. Ibid.; also1940 U.S. census, population schedule, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, enumeration district (ED) 10-24, sheet 13B, family 307, William E McClanahan; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, 4,643 rolls.
5. “Bea Arthur,” Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bea_Arthur : accessed 28 May 2012).
6. 1940 U.S. census, population schedule, Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, enumeration district (ED) 10-11, sheet 19B, family 116, Philip Frankel; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, 4,643 rolls.
7. “Estelle Getty,” Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Getty : accessed 28 May 2012).
8. 1940 U.S. census, population schedule, Manhattan, New York County, New York, enumeration district (ED) 31-517, sheet 61A, family 203, Charles Scher; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, 4,643 rolls.
What a neat idea for a fun project, Julie! I’m with you on sometimes needing to stray from serious research. And not just for projects researching famous people (though I often wonder myself whatever happened to the descendants of famous people).
There are a lot of people beginning to pursue ephemera and research it–chance letters, news clippings, antique photos or anything that mentions names from another era. I’ve had fun doing that, myself, while learning something new about a different era.
My favorite example of this, in the blog world, is the continuing story on “Permanent Record” where journalist Paul Lukas stumbled upon the academic records of the now-defunct Manhattan Trade School for Girls. From information on those records found in a garbage heap, he traced the stories of each of the school’s graduates, and sometimes even their descendants. A wonderful find in discovering people’s stories, even if they are not famous! It’s at http://permanentrecordproject.blogspot.com/
Jacqui, thanks for sharing the Permanent Record project with me!