What is the Census Tracker?
Census tracking is the comparison
between different censuses to derive new information using an interactive table of names by Census years.
Gleaning all the potentially useful data from a census requires careful
examination, but can be very rewarding.
Information can be recorded as a census event in the individual viewer, or link
individuals in the census table.
How do I maneuver in the Census Tracker?
Double-click on an individual name cell opens the Timeline View.
(Double-click on an event/name on the Timeline Viewer will open an
Individual Information Viewer)
Double-click on the birth
date/place will open the Individual Information Viewer.
Double-click
on a gray box with ***** nothing will open because the birth or death
information for the individual indicates that a person will not be in the
Census taken for that year.
Double-click on a cell with an
approximate age for a person in a specific census year and it will open a
census entry form that represents the census for that year. A form
specifically tailored to each census will open.
How do I use the Census Entry form? ( Double-click a time
cell to open Entry Form.)
At the top of every Census Entry form will be the
following:
| Date: |
Automatically entered |
|
Place: |
City, County, State, Country of Census (must have all
jurisdictions or form will not be saved) |
|
Source: |
Preset to the Census year. Click New Source
to change source name. |
|
Page: |
|
|
Citation for census quality: |
Reliability of the source |
Enter Census Information
Post 1840 Census
Using the box labeled "Unassociated Family Members" click
Add
next to the name of individuals found on the census. Edit
information in the "Extracted Information" box to reflect the
information on the census. If the individual cannot be found, then
type in extracted census information and click
Link to
search for existing individual or add a new individual to your database.
Pre-1850 or Head of Household Census
In the white text field area labeled
Name,
enter the name of the head of household as recorded in the census.
Now type the appropriate number of recorded individuals as extracted
from the census by age and gender (if specified). Lines will
automatically be added to the table of "Individuals associated
with this record:" for every person counted in the census.
Click on the
link button in the
Enter Census Table and a
Link an
individual Window Appears.
A list of
persons of possible household names from your database appears. You may then choose
one of the following options:
- Link to individual selected below. (Most common)
- Add as a new child of
- Add as a new spouse of
- Add as a new unattached individual
- Search for an existing
individual
Database Information
At the bottom of the census table are family members
that MagiKey Family Tree anticipates will be in the census. You can click on the
Add button as a short cut to writing the name and then
linking it. However, you will most likely end up changing the name
as it appears on the census.
Clicking on the
individual in the Go To column will open the Individual Information Editor for
greater detail in your comparisons. As you link census persons to
individuals in your database the names will be removed from the list of
"Family members not yet associated with any record in this census".
If the age recorded from the census are off of
more than a year from your database, it will show up in red on the Census
Tracker Viewer
Why is Tracking Data from a Census Useful?
- Analyzing data from the Census Tracker Chart may reveal: New locations to search for data.
- Comparing age spans and dates may: Narrow down birthdates.
- Identifies possible recording errors:
Name spellings or nicknames
- Provides helpful utilization of pre-1850 U.S. Federal
censuses,
and much more.
Tip: Use Reports Menu>
Census Table to print.