General - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

gathering census records on Excel

alansmom1 — 24 Mar 2008 2:46:37 GMT

I have over 200 census records cited on my family tree that are handwritten on blank forms. I am trying to write an Excel spreadsheet that will allow me to enter the data and do searches, comparisons, etc. Has anyone else attempted this, and do you have a template that is working? Any assistance would be appreciated!

Correct census references

MilneJL — 29 Aug 2008 5:41:32 GMT

Can anyone advise me on the correct method of recording the source of census information.(i.e. the numbering scheme)
Up till now (for the past 10 years) I have been using the method desribed by Kathleen B. Cory in her book "Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry" which uses the following method:
Year / district / book / page e.g. 1841 / 597 / 25 / 16

However I notice on the FreeCen web site the following method is used:
Year / district / enumeration district / folio / page e.g. 1841 / 168 / 3 / 7 / 1

I am now at a loss as to which, if any, is the correct method to use. Help

Use of the term "capitalist" on census records

jktking — 15 Nov 2006 2:20:48 GMT

In the 1900 census records for Cavetown, Washington County, MD, my husband's g-grandfather's 3 spinster sisters are living with their widowed father. All 3 of the sisters have "capitalist" listed for occupation. I thought this was some family joke but then my husband pointed out that someone else on the same page had "capitalist" listed for occupation. I have never seen this before. What is the meaning of this term for occupation ?

Williams/Census

Tyler — 22 Aug 2006 8:16:37 GMT

I have been searching for Mose Williams' parents for a year now, but can't find them. I have search genealogy websites and census's. He was born on 23 Mar 1859 and died Jun 1945. He married Martha Ann Gray. They had 10 kids. Any suggestions?

How to read census forms; enquiry

CERYSHUGHES2003 — 29 Aug 2008 5:44:48 GMT

On the 1881 census, one of my female relatives is listed as the head of the household and condition as to marriage is simply the letter W. This letter appears on all other women who are living on their own with children, although I know for a fact that she was married. If she was widowed, it would say "wid". Could this W stand for "Wife"?

Census reliability

dragsholm1 — 22 Nov 2004 10:45:37 GMT

Can anyone tell me how accurate, on average, the data in the old census listings was? I ask, because, while looking up some people in the online 1880 census, I have found several cases where the ages given for these people varies wildly from the ages given elsewhere for them. (In one case, if the age given for one woman in the 1880 census was correct, she would have married at the age of about 13!) I'm not sure if this is from transcription errors when the 1880 census was put on the Internet, or if the old census records themselves were just plain unreliable. What do the more experienced researchers among you think?

Admin Message: Census Message Boards

storknurse — 4 Dec 2006 12:09:47 GMT

To find a census message board go to: http://www.ancestry.com/share/ and click on Topics> More, then Census. There you will find this board plus folders for:
Canada
Denmark
United Kingdom
United States

Within each of those you will find boards for certain years, individual regions or states, and a general board for the USA census.

If your interest is in the online census images at Ancestry.com, go to Topics>Ancestry.com>United States Census. Do not post queries or comments about Ancestry.com Images Online on the Census>General board.

This board is for general queries about "census" as a topic, a place to discuss census issues, and as a "catch-all" for countries that don't have census boards. This is not the place to post USA census questions nor lookups. All other posts placed here will be moved to the most appropriate board.

Sharyn Hay
Census>General Administrator

Purpose of Sample Census Forms

BerylPratts27 — 22 Feb 2005 3:30:35 GMT

What is the purpose of sample census forms? Is it to understand the column headings or do people actually re-write the information? Is there a way to electronically copy census information to the sample forms?

Austria/Hungary census, 1828 or 1910

@@kurtslakeboat_44@yahoo.com — 3 Nov 2005 1:59:20 GMT

Wher would I find a look up for the 1828 or 1910 Austria / Hungarian Census?
Thank You
Kurt

Bohemian census listing

Mark Bires — 20 Jan 2004 3:02:52 GMT

I'm wondering about a 1930 census listing where "Bohemian" is written down for "Mother Tongue". The language of the region once known as Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, is presumably Czech or Slovakian (which I understand are very similar). Is it likely that in 1930 the author would have been identifying himself specifically with these regions, or might this be just a more general comment? The person in question was born in a town in ~1870 in what is now Slovakia with last name of Beres.

Puerto Rico 1899 census

jusnmel — 14 Jul 2004 11:49:15 GMT

The US did not begin collecting census data in Puerto Rico until 1910; however, there is supposed to be a census taken in 1899. Does anyone have any information on this census, especially how or where this data could be accessed?

Thanks!

Trinidad & Tobago census?

jusnmel — 15 Jul 2004 1:14:54 GMT

Hi, my husband's family is from Port of Spain, Trinidad. We are not sure where to begin in order to trace his family tree/history. Are there census records from Trinidad similar to those of the US? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

1859 census occupation

crobnson — 19 Jul 2004 8:33:21 GMT

Would anyone happen to know what occupation "Du" or "Do" stands for?

Census and Mental Hospitals/Asylums

kristinseitz155 — 22 Jun 2004 6:33:23 GMT

Hi everyone,
Hopefully someone can answer this for me. If someone is in a mental hospital/asylum (between 1880-1910) would they be listed in the federal census?
Thanks!!!!!!
Kristin

Census Grid

jcw264 — 24 Mar 2003 1:56:36 GMT

I was wondering if someone can tell me how to "Set Up" or "Create" a Census Grid, as in the one that Patricia Law Hatcher speaks of in her latest article, "Genealogy on 4 hours a Week", used to log the Censuses she has found for any given individual. Thanks much,

Tracey

Federal Birth Certificates, issued by Census Bureau?

mgmiller33 — 5 May 2004 2:43:39 GMT

Does anyone have information on Federal Birth Certificates issued by the Census Bureau at some point during the 1900s? I contacted the Bureau, the person I spoke with wasn't familiar with them.

The Bureau began registering births and issuing certificates, but eventually stopped the practice and turned all records over to the individual states around 1970.

I was trying to find out the time period when the Bureau issued federal birth certificates and why they decided to stop doing it, also if individuals were required to get a state birth certificate in addition federal one.

Thanks for your help!

Enumerators

winshado — 30 Sep 2003 3:40:51 GMT

I've discovered that one of my ancestors was an "enumerator" for the 1900 U S Census in the State of Nebraska, Furnas County, and was wondering what it took back then to become an enumerator.

Was this a "political job"? Did it indicate any "status" in the community?

TIA

Bob Cooper

Jamaican Census Data

genekink — 24 Feb 2004 8:30:58 GMT

How can one get access to this info for the years 1850 to 1900?
Thanks

Can anyone read this?

michelle ruel — 15 Feb 2004 7:54:10 GMT

hi there,

my name is michelle ruel, and i'm helping my stepdad with his genealogy. i was wondering if ANYONE out there can read what it says on this census where the arrows are pointing. it is from the new york state 1920 census, and it would either be a state or another country maybe, but we can't read it. the column title is "mother's place of birth".

if ANYONE can read this, please let me know.

thanks so much for your time,
michelle

census record column headings

theresachristopher — 20 Jan 2004 3:33:40 GMT

How can I find out what the smallest print in the column headings reads? Have "zoomed in" but the image is not clear enough to read. Have this problem w/ 1910 and 1900 census.
Have not searched further back.

Enumerated Date

glennwaters65 — 28 Sep 2003 4:58:48 GMT

When it gives a Enumeration Date, is this the date the census was acturally taken?

Census form reading.

richardlant — 23 Apr 2003 11:14:17 GMT

On the census forms, the numbers to the left edge of the names, (left side) What are they for, and what info can they give.
Thank You.
Dick.

Reading Census Information

jvickers01 — 28 Mar 2003 7:52:19 GMT

I'm new to this so this is a pretty elementary question, but is it safe to assume that if the census roll number and page number are the same, that it's for the same household?

Norway Census website: 1660, 1801, 1865, 1875, 1900; Tax Lists, Military Rolls

Patty_Mallory — 14 Jul 2003 9:09:16 GMT

Here is a Norweigan website that has quite a lot of census information and more about Norway. I'm giving the English translated pages, which is pretty good, but not everything is in English. You can do a national search on the 1801, 1865, and 1900 censuses. But you will have to search at the "county" level for the other censuses. At the county level, it's neat because you can search and then search within the results, narrowing it down.
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Since not everything is in English, this gets a little difficult at times, but it is worth the work. Use your comon sense on what some of the buttons may mean or reply to this with any questions.
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There are also tax lists, military rolls, church registers, emigrants, probrate registers, fire assesment (?), registers, citizenship, and Other. I haven't spent much time in those records.
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So far everything I've searched for on the site is free access.
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The URL: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/wc/webcens.exe?slag=men...
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Some words I've translated which may help:
Fornavn – first name
Etternavn – last name
Kjønn – gender
Fødselsår – Birthday/Age
Fødested – Birthplace
Yrke – profession
Sedvanlig – habitual (home?)
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I found 4 of my Norweigan ancestors in the 1900 census, which was just shortly before they all came over to America (I was lucky enough to find the same 4 in ellisisland.org records when they did come a couple of years later).

"CensusDiggins"

LisaMasters101 — 25 Jul 2002 11:03:45 GMT

Has anyone had any work done though this website?
www.censusdiggins.com

sure would like to hear from you.
ThankYou,Lisa

HTML templates for census

roadrunner901 — 14 Jul 2003 9:06:45 GMT

I am looking for templates I can us to put some census records I have transcribe. I one I am using now just don't look right,,Can someone please help...Thanks Wendy

Census Abbreviation

barrydutcher — 22 Oct 2006 1:29:55 GMT

I have come upon the abbreviation "a. dau." in the relationship column of a census. Anyone know an exact definition?

How Important is the census in research

Mafioso697 — 14 Mar 2002 11:01:02 GMT

I have gotten quite far in my research, however, it seems that I have gotten stuck and can't find much, if any, information. I was thinking of updating my subscription to included the census reports, but I'm not sure how affective they will be. I would like to get some feedback.

Steven Tanner

Census Image Samples

michaelneill1968 — 23 Mar 2002 6:41:30 GMT

There are sample census images at this site. All the images are saved as JPG files.
http://www.rootdig.com/census/index.html

Census citations?

gleemc — 29 Mar 2002 10:08:56 GMT

Census records often include two page numbers, a handwritten and a pre-printed. These are often not consistent even within the same census. In referencing these, what is the preferred page number, handwritten or pre-printed? If a page number and a sheet number are both included, is there a preferred reference?

census microfilm on CD image enhancement software?

JohnGrace94 — 26 Oct 2001 12:19:02 GMT

I have CD's containing census images. The images were obviously made from dirty and scratched microfilm originals. Has anyone found image enhancement software which can "clean up" these images by removing scratches, spots, smudges, etc., while retaining a high proportion of the recorded census information?

Viewing census records

mary — 27 Jan 2003 8:37:50 GMT

I'm was wondering how do you actully get to view the census records once you locate their name under the census record? what if you live in a different state?

Census online?

Debra — 27 Jan 2003 8:32:26 GMT

Where is the best least expensive (or best value for the money) place to examine census records on the internet? I can't afford all the online communities or the CD's some sell just to check one question! I'd appreciate any opinions! Thanks- Deb