Tag-Archive for » Census «

09
Apr
Census Taker cause Grief
Debby

Regardless of which country you are researching, census records can help.  There are issues when working with census records though.  For example, human error and poor penmanship on the part of the census taker can change a name from Shirley to Sterling when captured by an indexer.  Another issue sometimes found is when a census taker decided to use initials for first names.  Can life get any more complicated when reading a list of common names and not even have the benefit of the full first name?

I appreciate the work that the census takers did and I am extremely happy when I come across a page which is nicely printed out with full names.  It just adds to the frustration of finding those wanderlust relatives when census pages are hard to read.

Kathleen Hinckley’s book on Your Guide to the Federal Census has excellent tips on handwriting issues, these have saved me from many costly mistakes.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , , , , ,  25 Comments
30
Mar
The Canadian Genealogical Sourcebook
Debby

Looking for a quick reference book on Canadian genealogy, take a look at Ryan Taylor’s The Canadian Genealogical Sourcebook.  The topics covered for each province and territory include: directories, census, wills and probate, land records, and repositories.

Where possible address, website and email are provided for the national, regional and local repositories.

What I especially like is that the Sourcebook explains how the data is recorded in each province, especially for Quebec.

This book is current out of print and might be available at used bookstore vendors.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , , , , , ,  3 Comments
20
Mar
Kids and Genealogy
Debby

As a parent and genealogist, I hope that one of my kids will be interested in genealogy and keep the interest going.  Now if I show them a census record or an old probate record it will make them turn away and say “Mama’s looking for dead people again”.  I looked very hard to find a book that might get them to understanding genealogy and perhaps spark some interest.

My latest find is My Family Tree Workbook by Rosemary A. Chorzempa. Starting with simple fill-in forms about themselves, to guidance on writing letters and where to look for more information, I am sure that this format will give my kids something to work on.  I specifically enjoyed that the format is easy to follow and the terms are easy enough to understand without having to explain to them every page in great detail.  I see this as a long term project, but as I know, genealogy is not a project that can be done over a weekend.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , , , ,  2 Comments
04
Mar
Puzzle Help
Debby

The Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook by Emily Anne Croom keeps your research organized with easy to use forms.  Research takes time, and being able to track what I have done and being able to start and stop as my real life calls, while still remembering where to resume is important to me.  Forms range from census checklists, contact logs, note pages, to my favorite: U.S. Census forms.

There are examples on how to use all the forms; which inspired me to keep better records and go beyond my current genealogy scope.

Category: Genealogy  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
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