The document provides an overview of census research, including key details about US censuses from 1790-1940. It discusses the types of information contained in different historical censuses and how to effectively search census records online, noting potential errors and variations to consider. Tips are given on evaluating search results and saving relevant census images.

1. Census Research Why start with the census? Everybody had to participate Gives a SNAPSHOT of the family every ten years Where they lived Who was in the family Basic profile for each family member Research Process Move from the KNOWN to the UNKNOWN Start with the recent, move to the past

2. Census Basics Most recent available: 1930 72-year privacy rule: 1940 census available April 2012 1890 census damaged in 1921 and later destroyed; only remnants exist Some other censuses have missing data for some counties 1790 to 1840: only head of household named; rest just tick marks 1850 and after, every person in household listed

3. Censuses 1790-1840: minimal information 1840

4. Second page of 1840 contains additional information Text No. of household members engaged in various occupations Slaves in household Text Military Pensioners 1830 census also has a second page

5. After 1850, every household member named 1850

6. Learn about Ancestry collections

7. Ancestry Searching: Overview Searches the INDEX, not the document image. Errors created at any point may hinder the search: informant errors, enumerator errors, transcription errors Error may occur in spelling, age, relationship, marital status, birth place, even sex! Location: Ancestry supplies likely locations; click on to import suggestion to the fill-in box. Best results If an exact search fails: DON’T constrain your search too much by age/ other data. Try many name spelling variations DO Use WILDCARDS [for names] .

8. Approaching a Search Approaching a database search in Ancestry.com, or other online database, be aware of what info about your target family you are “pretty sure “ of what in your info is “possibly incorrect” what in your info is a “best guess” If you are aware of the “weak points” in the info you have about a family, you will know where to vary your search elements if you can’t find them right away

9. Example You know the ancestor’s name, date of birth (approx), place of birth, and where he lived in 1930. You know he was married, had at least one daughter, and was a tailor. What info would you enter in a search for him in 1930? Start with: Only his name, birth year, place of birth and residence. Any more information could filter out your actual ancestor from the results. It is even possible that the above info is too much.

10. Entering Information NAMES: can be incorrect in the index BIRTH year: focuses but does not constrain results BUT If +/- is used, it will constrain results BIRTHPLACE: can focus results, doesn’t constrain LOCATION: state and city/town: county not nec. Ancestry compensates for small deviances in your input of location; within a state, it will find a location even if a misspelled, unofficial, or informal designation for the place is entered

11. Your Target Name may not show on top of the list. Set the results list to 50 results and look through the whole thing !

12. Search results: Hover over “View Record” on the left Get a “Preview” of what is on the census page Evaluate whether it’s worth looking at the actual image IF you think this may be your target family, click to go to the record/image A “record page” -- a transcription of some of the info on the actual image-- appears even when you want to go to the image DON’T STOP THERE--look at the census image

13. Found Ancestor? SAVE! Keep a copy of the image (and the record page if you like) on your computer. Many ways to create an image on a Mac Drag image to desktop (creates a moderate size jpg) Create a print image (click Ancestry “print”) and drag to desktop. (creates a large size jpg) Create print image (click Ancestry “print”) , then click computer “print” (FILE menu). In dialog box, click on “Preview.” Click on “save” in FILE menu; name the file and save to desktop. (creates a pdf.) Once saved, you can print the page at home or create a clip of the target family’s entry.

15. Census Image is an Original Source An ORIGINAL source is one generated at or close to the event (in this case, the taking of the census). A DERIVATIVE source is one derived from the original = an extraction of information a transcription or even a word for word copy An ORIGINAL source is always preferable to a derivative one: more authoritative.

16. Census Image is a Mixture of Primary & Secondary Information Primary information comes from someone with first-hand knowledge of the event Secondary information comes from someone whose knowledge of the event is secondhand or more distant.