The U.S. census's 72-year confidentiality rule has a strange history
Under federal law, the U.S. government must restrict access to people's records for the once-a-decade tally until 72 years after a count's Census Day. The exact origins of that time span are murky.
It's a rule that many genealogists plan their lives around.
Once a decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tries to gather the names, home addresses and other details of every person living in the country for a head count.
And 72 years after a national tally's Census Day, records with all of that information are shared with the public, including family historians eager to flesh out their genealogy charts.
This policy — called the "72-Year Rule" — was enshrined into law in 1978 and has become part of the current promise of confidentiality the bureau relies on to convince households to get counted.
This year, on April 1, — the first
