1930 and 1940 census on the death screen

I don't think we've done it before, so we will do it now. A new rule: only input census for the soldiers' grandchildren on the death screen. If you feel you need to input the census for anyone else, please use the regular 1930 and 1940 inputting screens.

If you discover that you've input information for 1930 and 1940 on the death screen that you shouldn't have input (wrong person, wrong generation, already input), please delete it. You cannot just uncheck the boxes for 1930 and 1940. All this does is hide the inputting fields on the screen. The data are still there. Please go into each of the fields and delete the unwanted information; then uncheck the box.

It's census day!

Given how important the census is to our work, I thought I'd send out a friendly reminder that it is census day. Don't forget to fill out your questionnaire. It only takes a few minutes. You can find it here.

Some thoughts on linking

I was discussing quality code 4 matches and census linking with Irene this week. She had some good comments that I'd like to share with you.

We both agreed that sometimes people take a QC4 match because they don't want to leave a no find on the grid. They think that any match is better than no match. That is not the case. We don't want to collect false matches. Just because you only found one person with the right name living in the right county doesn't mean you've found the correct person. If you've found two possible matches, you can't necessarily choose the person whose age is only off by 3 years instead of 5 years. Beware of common names. When an individual lives in a large city, there might be multiple people with the same name on the census and others who just got missed by the enumerator.

Here is what Irene had to say about linking records:

I see linking records and clues like stepping stones across a creek - you need to step on each stone to get you to the next one without skipping over any of them. There needs to be a clear link between the starting info and the records we use and attach to the family.

Please keep this in mind as you do census linking.

Seeking examples for a training meeting

In February or March, we will have our fabulous genealogists come to Vienna for a week of training meetings. To facilitate this, we are seeking examples of individuals and families that you're having difficulty finding information for, either census or death. Through the end of December, please do the following:

• As you work, notice when you're having difficulty finding either census or death information for a family or individual you are working on.
• Please note, do not tell me about every yellow X on your grid. If you have one yellow X in a sea of green, I'm not interested in this person.
• We're more interested in the "I can't find this person anywhere" or the "I know I should be able to find this person, but I can't" sort of situations.
• I'm hoping you'll recognize the examples I'm looking for when you come across them.
• When you've found a good example, email me the following information
• RecId number
• Soldier's name
• PID of the person you're having trouble with
• Any information about it you feel we need (please keep this to a minimum as the genealogists will be doing their own research)

We are looking for families that will be good for training. I will create a list for Janice and Irene to review and research. Additionally, if you have any burning research related questions, feel free to send those to me as well.

Census search secrets

Ancestry posted an article, "8 Secrets to a Successful Census Search." I think you all know these, but it doesn't hurt to have a review. Read the article here.

It's National Poetry Month!

In honor of National Poetry month, here are a couple of census-related poems. How appropriate!

Madam and the Census Man

by Langston Hughes

The census man,

The day he came round,

Wanted my name

To put it down.

I said, JOHNSON,

ALBERTA K.

But he hated to write

The K that way.

He said, What

Does K stand for?

I said, K--

And nothing more.

He said, I'm gonna put it

KÐAÐY.

I said, If you do,

You lie.

My mother christened me

ALBERTA K.

You leave my name

Just that way!

He said, Mrs.,

(With a snort)

Just a K

Makes your name too short.

I said, I don't

Give a damn!

Leave me and my name

Just like I am!

Furthermore, rub out

That MRS., too--

I'll have you know

I'm Madam to you!

Just a note -- Before 1880, the census was taken by US Marshals and their assistants, not enumerators.

The Puzzled Census Taker

by John Godfrey Saxe

" GOT any boys? " the Marshal said

— To a lady from over the Rhine;

And the lady shook her flaxen head,

— And civilly answered, " Nein! "

" Got any girls? " the Marshal said

— To the lady from over the Rhine;

And again the lady shook her head,

— And civilly answered, " Nein! "

" But some are dead? " the Marshal said

— To the lady from over the Rhine;

And again the lady shook her head,

— And civilly answered, " Nein! "

" Husband of course? " the Marshal said

— To the lady from over the Rhine;

And again she shook her flaxen head,

— And civilly answered, " Nein! "

" The devil you have! " the Marshal said

— To the lady from over the Rhine;

And again she shook her flaxen head,

— And civilly answered, " Nein! "

" Now what do you mean by shaking your head,

— And always answering " Nine"? "

" Ich kann nicht Englisch! " civilly said

— The lady from over the Rhine.