The latest census that has been released with names is the 1950 census — 72 years must pass in order for the names to be released.
Elizabeth Hayden: The first and most important thing to do is to interview family members, especially older family members. When they’re gone, the knowledge will be gone, and I think we’ve all regretted not asking questions that later in life we wish we would have asked. Aside from that, it’s good to start with the U.S. Census. It puts a person in a place and time, which is important to know to do further research. The latest census that has been released with names is the 1950 census — 72 years must pass in order for the names to be released.