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Jim Todd must have spent his final days peering out the window of his drafty shack in Cadillac, Mich.

Nearly 80 years old, alone and ill, he told his neighbor Ed Althouse that he desperately wanted to be counted in the 1930 census.

Even though it had been two weeks since the census-takers fanned out across the country on April 1, no one had come knocking on Jim's door. One day Ed stopped by to visit Jim and found him dead on the floor. Ed called the undertaker.

The savvy undertaker knew a dead body when he saw one and he declared that Jim wasn't quite dead, yet. While preparing to haul Jim off to the hospital, the census-taker appeared on the doorstep.

Amazingly, Jim regained consciousness, dutifully rattled off his life's details to the census-taker, then promptly died. Jim's final wish to be counted in the census was granted.

That story appeared in newspapers across the country in April of 1930. That month, census-takers counted nearly 123 million people, including the nearly dead Jim Todd.

Most Americans living today have relatives who were counted in the 1930 census. Because census records remain closed for 72 years, 1930 is the most recent one available for researchers.

Census-takers scribbled down details about four generations of my family tree in the 1930 census. My parents, four grandparents, and five great-grandparents were alive in 1930.

Where does the fourth generation come in? The five great-grandparents had to name the birthplaces of their parents, offering up clues about that generation.

The census questionnaire included the standard details: name, age, birthplace, occupation and parents' birthplaces.

Citizens were also asked if they rented or owned their homes.

My three great-grandfathers living in 1930 were homeowners. One home was valued at $3,000. I've seen a photograph of that house and it was quite nice.

Another home was valued at $1,200, which was more modest, but probably a comfortable place. The third home was worth only $400. Even in 1930, a $400 house probably didn't amount to much.

In addition to real estate values, the government also wanted to know how many Americans had embraced technology. The government asked who owned a radio.

People also had to list their age at their first marriage. The key word there is "first." The current spouse wasn't necessarily the first one.

This census revealed important clues about immigrants. They had to name the language they spoke before coming to America, the year they came to this country and whether they had become a naturalized citizen.

Questions regarding military service provide more handy information for researchers. Men were asked if they were veterans and to name the war or military expedition in which they served.

So the 1930 census is the place to start your census research and then work your way backward through the census years.

The Special Collections Library downtown has the 1930 census on microfilm. You can also access online census images using the library's subscription to Ancestry.com.