What you can learn from a Census (1930)

At the top of every census page (well, this isn't always a "given"), you should find the state, the county, and the township, (or some other form of a geographical description, for example, a precinct #).

I am utilizing the 1930 Census, today, for Lauderdale County, Alabama; the township is "Florence".  The Enumeration District is 37-15, Ward 2.  It is "supervisor district #1"; the date may be at that top of the page, also.  If not, you might utilize the date from the page before or after (better than "no date at all")!                          

Where can I learn more about the place called Lauderdale County?  
Use Wikipedia for a quick location hint or for more information, access Maps.google.com.

Where can I find images of the census?  Almost any large genealogical database will have some census images: FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, and MyHeritage.com are some examples.

The family unit for page #2A of the census that I'm looking at today is the WEATHERLY family.  The date that this census information was gathered is 3 April 1930.  Always make a habit of viewing the page(s) before and after to see if you think any of their relatives were living nearby ("Nearby" being a very long distance or it could mean "next door")!

Obie Lee Weatherly is the head of the household.  "H".  In 1930, a question that the enumerator asked was "is this home owned or rented"?  In this case, the answer is "R" for rented.  Mr. Weatherly's rent is $50.00 or if he owns his home, that value of that property would be listed.  "Do you have a radio set"? was also asked.  

Other questions: Do you live on a farm?  In this instance, the answer is "no".  Obie Lee is a male, he is "white", age 44, and married.  He was age 23 at the time of his first marriage.  He is not attending school presently.  And he can read and write.  He was born in Georgia; his father was born in Alabama, and his mother was born in Georgia.

Hint:  You might take a picture or save the image of the census so you can refresh your memory, later.  A lot of genealogists will use a form, (print from ancestry.com or familysearch.org), specifically loaded with the census questions for that particular census year.  Or perhaps you have downloaded a template for the 1930 Census; you can even make your own with Excel or some other spreadsheet program.  For templates, check out NARA.gov.