Entering census data

[K McCulloch]

Is there a way to enter census data for a household once and attach all it's members to it rather than having to enter the data separately for each family member? I currently use The Master Genealogist and am considering making the switch. In TMG I am able to enter a household once and attach its members to it. Then I can later easily see who all was listed in that one household. Thank you. Kevin

[theKiwi]

Re: Entering census data

Yep - you can create a Census Event for one person, with all the details you want to include for that event - date, place, a memo containing the transcript perhaps, link a source to it and then save that event for one person.

Then reopen the Edit Person window and you can highlight that line and Copy it to the Clipboard, then go to every other person mentioned in that Census Household and simply open their Edit Person window, paste the event with its attached source citation into that window and Save, then go to the next person.

So you're not directly linking each person to a single event, but you can easily copy and paste that event to multiple people.

Roger

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Entering census data

Also, any text in any field (with source citations included) can be copied and pasted into any other field in the same or another person's record. My practice is to put census information in a Note field, and then, having copied it to each person, (this next bit may seem too much like hard work) to make appropriate changes. So "At House, Street, Town: Bill Snooks, 35, labourer, born Derby; with son Freddy, 3, born London" becomes "At House, Street, Town: Freddy Snooks, 3, born London; with father Bill, 35, labourer, born Derby." - and I did not just re-type all that. The habit of Copy/Paste/Amend is worth acquiring all over your use of the computer.

[K McCulloch]

Re: Entering census data

Thank you, Roger and Michael. I knew about using the copy and past feature for each individual whether I input it each time or copy it for each person in the household. I am trying to avoid having to post that information for each individual. What I am trying to do (like I can do in The Master Genealogist) is input the census enumeration for a specific household one time and then link all the household members to it. Then I can pull up that event later and easily see who is linked to it so I can quickly determine who was enumerated in that household on that particular census. Not being able to do this in Reunion appears for me to be a major deficiency. Given the way you described entering census data in Reunion, how can you easily find out in Reunion who all appeared in a household in a particular census?

[theKiwi]

Re: Entering census data

I make each census "page" a different source, so if the enumeration of a particular farm in the 1851 Census was say Source 2,345, then I can find every person who has Source 2,345 linked to them from the Source Tools menu.

Roger

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

"Given the way you described entering census data in Reunion, how can you easily find out in Reunion who all appeared in a household in a particular census?"
The way I do it is to enter the census data more or less as Michael has described, and to have the census listed as a source. I also like to see the census entries in tabular form in a table similar to the original enumerator's entries. So I make these tables, both as as an Event, or also separately in Excel, and attach the table to the source. I also modify the View in Reunion using the Smartlist feature, so that each successive census entry for an individual shows up in chronological order And if I then wish to see who appeared in a household in a particular census, I need just click on either the numbered source in Reunion or look at the whole table for that source. This becomes really useful in say, late Victorian families where there are , at least in my family, families of fifteen and seventeen children.

[Ray Haygood]

Re: Entering census data

"Given the way you described entering census data in Reunion, how can you easily find out in Reunion who all appeared in a household in a particular census?"
The way I do it is to enter the census data more or less as Michael has described, and to have the census listed as a source. I also like to see the census entries in tabular form in a table similar to the original enumerator's entries. So I make these tables, both as as an Event, or also separately in Excel, and attach the table to the source. I also modify the View in Reunion using the Smartlist feature, so that each successive census entry for an individual shows up in chronological order And if I then wish to see who appeared in a household in a particular census, I need just click on either the numbered source in Reunion or look at the whole table for that source.

Rupert - it would be very helpful if you posted some screen shots of your census data in a table - do you generate it in Excel and attach it to the source entry, or something else? Also, a screenshot of your smartlist would also be useful. I'm trying to understand your technique for storing, viewing and reporting census data. Thanks

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

Ray, Will do later but at work at the mo, plus I need to remind myself how to post screen shots to ReunionTalk

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

Ray, here - I hope - is a screen shot of the table I set up in Excel. To refer to it, I use the same source number that I have for it in Reunion. In this instance, that was 101. By the time you have many dozen or a few hundred of these tables, having the source number show in the multimedia file becomes very useful.
To set up the next one is very straightforward; just copy and paste the text or type it manually and click file/ save as etc More to follow

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

And here , with luck, is a screen shot of a typical persons entry. I enter "census" as an additional Event, then set up the "View" to show all events. In that way, each Census entry will show up in chronological order, with Source numbers for each one alongside. it is a simple matter to click on , first the source to see what it is and then , as the multimedia symbol is highlighted, the table referred to previously.
As you can see, I often add a note of my own, sometimes in a different colour to highlight some point of interest. I find it particularly useful to see at a glance which censuses I have found someone in as this quickly shows me any gaps and also a pattern of where someone may have lived. All this without having to leave a persons "home page" in Reunion.
I hope this is clear, if not, I can add further screenshots if you need them? It is a technique that I was shown by fellow RT member Michael Talibard, who may be able to add a better explanation??

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

I guess many - perhaps the purist- would not go to the trouble of setting up a separate table of the Census entry in Excel but attach the original Enumerator's entry to the source as a multimedia image when that is available. I also do that sometimes especially when the script is difficult to read or understand.
One of the benefits of Reunion here is that you can never have too many sources. I like the table format which I have been used to for many years. I can have the source, say that might be 1851 Census, Norwich with any other detail;; and then attached TO THAT SOURCE as multimedia items, would be the table I've described, the enumerators original entry, and perhaps a photo of the house or street. I've also sometimes entered , with the source, census entries for other addresses in the same street when this has been relevant to my research.

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

And now I've learnt something further myself ! The second screen shot - the one of the typical persons entry - shows me that I have the UK Census entries for this person from 1861 onwards but there is no entry for 1851.. Having the chronological listing shows me that I either have not yet added that, or haven't yet found it, so I have something else to do. In either event, listing the Censuses this way for each person shows me useful information, without having to go off a person's "home page".

[Terri Works]

Re: Entering census data

And here , with luck, is a screen shot of a typical persons entry. I enter "census" as an additional Event, then set up the "View" to show all events. In that way, each Census entry will show up in chronological order, with Source numbers for each one alongside. it is a simple matter to click on , first the source to see what it is and then , as the multimedia symbol is highlighted, the table referred to previously.
As you can see, I often add a note of my own, sometimes in a different colour to highlight some point of interest. I find it particularly useful to see at a glance which censuses I have found someone in as this quickly shows me any gaps and also a pattern of where someone may have lived. All this without having to leave a persons "home page" in Reunion.
I hope this is clear, if not, I can add further screenshots if you need them? It is a technique that I was shown by fellow RT member Michael Talibard, who may be able to add a better explanation??

Thank you, thank you. You would not believe how much I have learned from this one post. You are my hero. I will now spend many hours learning all the options in preferences (i.e. Census as an event field). Reunion can be a bit overwhelming....

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Entering census data

[QUOTE=rclrocco;40312]

[rclrocco]

Re: Entering census data

Thanks Terri Works , glad it helped you. Even quite simple routines in Reunion took me a while to get used to, and I know that just seeing what is possible or how others use the program is useful.

Ray you asked for some screenshots, did they help you?