Options - Census Settings
Recording Method 1 or Recording Method 2
Method 1 is the default method in Ancestral Sources. With this method a separate source is created for each census entry, usually a household but could conceivably be a page or folio.
A source title might be:
Census 1871 Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire RG10/3821/74b (Martha and George Harold)
or
Census 1871 Stockton Heath, Cheshire RG10/3688/40b (Sarah Oldham)
This is probably the best method to choose if you want to keep a transcript of each census entry within your GEDCOM file as the source text can be used for this purpose. This is also probably the best method if you want to link an image of the original census entry to the entry.
Ancestral Sources will automatically create the source based on details entered by you. For each individual it will create census events, occupation attributes, birth events and other facts if applicable with each linked back to the source using a citation.
This method will result in you potentially having hundreds of sources in your GEDCOM file, one for each census household entry you find.
Using method 2 a source usually refers to an entire census year. A source title might be:
UK Census 1871
or
UK Census 1901
This is probably the best method if you don't want to record a transcript of each census entry within your GEDCOM file. If you do want to do this then this method can still be used but will result in larger files as the transcript will appear multiple times within citations.
Ancestral Sources will automatically create census events, occupation attributes, birth events and other facts if applicable for each every individual you select with each linked back to the chosen source using a citation.
This method will usually result in you having very few sources in your GEDCOM file but a lot of repeated information in citations.
In my opinion if you want to record a transcript of each census record and/or include links to images of the original census pages then Method 1 is probably the best choice. If however you just wish to record the census reference code without going to the trouble of including a transcription then use Method 2.
Please note that some users refer to Method 1 as 'Splitter Sources' and Method 2 as 'Lumper Sources'. This is because Method 1 users split their data across multiple sources, whereas Method 2 users lump lots of entries together under a single source.
Column Suggestions: For each column type selected, Ancestral Sources will attempt to fill in the value for you as each individual is selected. In some cases this may not be possible, e.g. if a person does not have a birth date it will not attempt to suggest their age. In addition it may get this suggestion wrong, or the census information may not be accurate. In these cases you should manually change or fill in the data.
By default, the list of occupations will include those specified in the Occupation list defined on the Edit Lists screen. You can edit that list yourself or even specify a list of occupations that can differ from source to source by creating a new list and choosing the name of the list on this options page.
Warnings when saving entries: It is possible to forget to enter all of the census data. You can opt to have Ancestral Sources warn you if you forget to enter source text, select images, enter a reference ID, or select a repository.
Offer to retain settings: If this is ticked the Retain Data screen will be shown after an entry is saved.
Birth Facts: With the default settings, when saving a census entry Ancestral Sources will give you the option to create or modify a GEDCOM birth fact for any individuals who either have birth date or birth place missing or where the birth place information given in the census is different to that recorded in the existing birth fact. If the option to offer to create birth facts even if existing birth includes place and date is selected then when saving the entry Ancestral Sources will show suggested birth facts to create for every individual in the census entry. It is probably a good idea to have this option selected when using the multiple births option (see General Settings above). In the UK 1841 census individuals over the age of 15 were supposed to have their ages rounded down to the nearest age divisible by 5. So for example someone recorded as being aged 25 could actually have been 29. If the UK 1841 option is selected then a between birth date will be suggested, e.g. the birth date will be recorded as between 1811 and 1816. Note that if an age in the 1841 census is under 15 or is not divisible by 5 (e.g. 28) then the between dates will not be used. Another setting, create citation for existing births is default, would need the even if existing birth includes place and date to be selected to be effective. This setting dictates whether the create citation for birth tickbox is ticked by default on the birth screen when opting to not change an existing birth event. See the help page for the Birth Events for Census screen for more details.
Occupation Facts: When creating an occupation fact the address is not filled in as it is unlikely that the address where the individual was on census day is also the address of their work-place. However, there is a good chance that they worked in the same town/village. If the Record census place in occupation option is selected then the census place will be recorded in the occupation place too. Age given in a census is frequently not accurate and in the author's opinion, the age given in the census is not really relevant to the occupation and therefore should be recorded in the census fact and not in the occupation fact. However, there is an option to Record individual age in occupation for those who wish to do this.
On the Edit Lists screen there is a list called 'Census Not Occupation' that by default contains entries such as 'scholar' and 'At School' but can be customised with your own choices. If the Don't record if in 'Census Not Occupation' List option is selected then any individuals with occupations that match the items in the list will not have occupation facts generated.
Source Types: The text entered here will be recorded in the Source Type tag for any census sources created. The source type is a Family Historian extension to GEDCOM. The default value is {SOURCETYPE} and when saved will be filled in by "Census", "Register", "Electoral Register" or other custom types you may have created, chosen from the Type drop-down list on the census entry page.
Citation Certainty: If this option is selected then the reliability assessment will be recorded with each census citation created. See also the Assessment (FH7+) option below.
Automatically start census reference: Census templates can have the start of census references specified. For example, the template for UK 1851 has a reference start of HO107/ . If this option is selected then when the census country and year are selected on the main screen, the start of the reference will be written into the reference ID field. The user will then need to fill in the remainder of the reference.
Use Citation Entry Date: If this option is selected then the census date will be recorded in the GEDCOM entry date field in every census citation. Some users prefer to use this field to record the date that they entered the information into Ancestral Sources. This is not the intended use of this field as specified in the GEDCOM standard but the option is there for those users who choose to use it for this purpose.
Assessment (FH7+): Family Historian 7 introduced new citation assessment/certainty options. If your file is a Family Historian 7 (or later) file and any of these options are selected then these will be added to all citations created for census sources. This will override the Citation Certainty option (see above). If none of the assessment options are ticked then the Citation Certainty option will apply instead.
Facts to create: Some census templates have columns which could be recorded in GEDCOM Physical Description, Nationality or Religion facts. For example, many census have columns to enter disability information and a Physical Description fact would be created if this option is selected. If these options are not selected then data entered into these columns would not be recorded anywhere unless the Auto text facility is used to fill in the source text with a transcription.
Appended Local Notes: Census templates can have columns with options set to record data in the local census or occupation note. For example, the UK 1901 census has 'Employment Status' and 'At Home?' columns that add their data to the occupation local note. You can opt to have these separated by commas or for each to start on a new line in the note. In addition you can specify whether each should be preceded by the note caption. The Make local notes private option will put double square brackets [[ ]] around generic column data that is copied into local notes. Family Historian considers data between the brackets to be private and by default is excluded from reports.
Remember Image Folders: Usually when selecting an image, Ancestral Sources will display the folder that contained the previously linked image for the current census country/year. This can be a very useful time-saver if you use different folders to hold images for each census year and/or country. This behaviour can be unhelpful if you record your census images in folders based on different criteria, e.g. separate folders for all images related to a particular individual. For this reason, if you un-tick this option then this behaviour will be suppressed.
Census information recorded in... The key information regarding each individual in the census should normally be recorded in a GEDCOM census fact. However, a very small number of Ancestral Sources users prefer to use a GEDCOM residence fact instead. A user asked whether it was possible to have a census and a residence fact created for each individual and therefore this is also an available option for that. Note that it is also possible to specify a preference in census templates so that different census templates can use census, residence or even a custom fact. However, by default the templates will use whatever is specified in this setting.
Show Index field: If this option is ticked, an Index field will be included alongside the reference id text box. This can be referenced by including the {INDEX} autotext keyword within source titles, image titles, autotext templates and source templates.
Census Image Title Template: When linking images to a census entry using the Image Viewer there are options to name the multimedia record and optionally rename the image file to match. One of the options is to create a title based on the Image Title Template. You can type the title template into the box and select tags from the list to include within the template. So, for example, If the template was: {SOURCETYPE} {REF} {COUNTRY} {YEAR} ({IMAGEINFO}) then {REF} will be replaced by whatever is entered into the Reference ID field and the {COUNTRY} and {YEAR} replaced by which census country and year selected. When you add a new image there is an additional information box to optionally enter text to add to the image title replacing the {IMAGEINFO} tag. When adding multiple images to a source this could be used to distinguish between them. In the example above if the additional information textbox was left blank then Ancestral Sources will automatically remove the () brackets as they are unnecessary. Therefore the image might be given the name: Census HO 107/65/3 UK 1851. Note that having a template specified here does not imply that the template will definitely be used. It will only apply if the appropriate option is chosen when linking an image on the Image Viewer screen. Other tags: {ADDR} - Address field, {OTHER} - Other Information field, {DATE} - census date, {PLACE} - Place field, {SOURCETYPE} - Census in this case, {KEYPERSON} - the name of the person in the first row of the census grid (or the selected Key Person) displayed in Forenames Surname format. There are other KEYPERSON sub-tags available to control the format in which the key person's name is displayed. See Template Keywords and Functions for further information.
These settings are available if census recording method 1 has been chosen on the Census Settings page.
Census Method 1 Title Template: When using method 1 a source is created for each census entry, the name of this source is based on the template. You can type text into this template and select tags from the list to include within the template. These tags are then replaced with the appropriate values when the source is created. For example if the template was: {SOURCETYPE} {YEAR} {PLACE} {REF} ({OTHER}) then the source created might be Census 1851 Preston, Lancashire, UK HO107/65/3 (John Smith) assuming that the census year is 1851, the census place is Preston, Lancashire, UK, the reference id field contains HO/107/65/3 and the Other Information field is John Smith. Other tags: {ADDR} - Address field, {OTHER} - Other Information field, {DATE} - census date, {PLACE} - Place field, {SOURCETYPE} - Census in this case, {KEYPERSON} - the name of the person in the first row of the census grid (or the selected Key Person) displayed in Forenames Surname format. There are other KEYPERSON sub-tags available to control the format in which the key person's name is displayed. See Template Keywords and Functions for further information.
Record census reference: You can opt to record the reference id in the publication information field which is part of the source, or in the where in source field in every citation. Using the where in source option will result in the census reference appearing in multiple places in the file which is not really recommended for method 1. So instead either use the publication information field or make sure you include the reference in the title template.
Record census event details in source data: There is a feature of GEDCOM which even many experienced users of Family Historian will not be aware and it is unlikely that this option will be used often. It is possible to record the types of event that are recorded within the source, together with the date and place. If this option is selected then a census event, together with date and place will be attached to the source when it is created.
Source Short Title: If this option is ticked, the main screen will allow you to create a short title for a source as well as the usual long title. Although not selected by default, some users like to record a different short title for their sources and you can specify a title template for this. If this option is ticked the Title label on the main screen will become a link which allows you to toggle between viewing or editing the long title or the short title. Please note that this option does not apply if templated sources are used (Family Historian v7 or later).
These settings are available if census recording method 2 has been chosen on the Census Settings page.
Census Method 2 Title Template: Usually method 2 entries link to an existing source which might be called Census USA 1880. However, if this source doesn't exist the main screen provides the option to create a new source, the title of which is based on this template. You can type text into this template and select tags from the list to include within the template. These tags are then replaced with the appropriate values when the source is created. For example if the template was: {SOURCETYPE} {COUNTRY} {YEAR} then the source created might be Census UK 1851. Other tags: {ADDR} - Address field, {OTHER} - Other Information field, {DATE} - census date, {PLACE} - Place field, {SOURCETYPE} - Census in this case, {KEYPERSON} - the name of the person in the first row of the census grid (or the selected Key Person) displayed in Forenames Surname format. There are other KEYPERSON sub-tags available to control the format in which the key person's name is displayed. See Template Keywords and Functions for further information. It should be noted that it is unlikely that the {REF} or {KEYPERSON} fields will be used in method 2 templates.
Images: If the option to link images to census entries is ticked then the user can choose whether these images will be linked to the citation or to the fact itself. Technically there isn't really much difference between these two options. The user can also decide whether they want the multimedia image record to be just linked to the census fact/citation or to every fact/citation that is created for the entry (e.g. Births, Occupations, etc.).
Source Text: It is always recommended that method 1 should be used if transcriptions of the census entries will be made. However, if a method 2 user wishes to record data in the source text field on the main screen then they can. The obvious option here might seem to be to record the data in the citation text field. However, an average census entry with say 7 individuals will probably lead to over 10 citations being created (for census, occupation, birth, etc. facts) which would mean 10+ separate copies of the source text being saved. Another option therefore is to create the source text within a note record and have a link to this note from each citation. This avoids the duplication of the source text. If the source text ever needed to be edited in the future it would only need to be edited in one place rather than in each of the 10+ citations.
Source Short Title: If this option is ticked, the main screen will allow you to create a short title for a source as well as the usual long title. Although not selected by default, some users like to record a different short title for their sources and you can specify a title template for this. If this option is ticked the Title label on the main screen will become a link which allows you to toggle between viewing or editing the long title or the short title.