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One Census Item Used in Several Collections
In the 1885 Kansas State Census there are many of my ancestors that are listed in the same township and their presence provides a lot of clues about how they intermarried. How do I add that particular census to each of those ancestors from a single research entry? Many of the individuals/families are on different pages, and I'd like to be able to add notes that contain the details collected for each person (age, marital status, birthplace, occupation, etc.) I may even try my hand at mapping their locations!
Hi, Linda. There are many options, but here's a possibility that might be most efficient for you. Set up one record for the locality's census of 1885, then attach a note for each person that has the roll, sheet, and line. I've put one in as a Document and the settings are below. The note shows the information that would be stored in a note.
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Kansas, U.S., State Census Collection, 1855-1925
Type Document Author Ancestry.com Date 2009 Archive Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas Loc. in Archive 1885 Kansas Territory Census; Township: Lola URL Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date Added 3/16/2023, 3:01:50 PM Modified 3/16/2023, 3:19:32 PM Notes:
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“L. F. Morgan”: Roll: KS1885_20; Sheet: 10; Line: 1; https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10744:1088
[Put your notes about the ancestor here]
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Here's a citation I put into Microsoft Word, using the Zotero extension and calling up the source on the terms "Kansas" and "State", then putting the note information as the page number:
[1] Ancestry.com, “Kansas, U.S., State Census Collection, 1855-1925” (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), “L. F. Morgan”: Roll: KS1885_20; Sheet: 10; Line: 1; https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10744:1088, 1885 Kansas Territory Census; Township: Lola, Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas.
It might not be flawless syntax, but it should be findable and consistent--two primary laws of citation creation. Ancestry's digital version wraps around the original material from the Kansas State Historical Society. If you want to, you can include the original page number of the record in the note. The URL could be tagged on as a suffix.
Hello! This is more long-winded than I thought it would be 😛 But I think it is important to understand when and where to use EE with the tools we use that don't support it.
Below is how I do it using one of my census listings that is similar to yours (one area, many people). I arrive at my system from the following considerations, your mileage may vary if you used different choices.
- Zotero cannot render EE-style citations without a lot of work and hacking. Even then it almost always needs cleaning up. While I could modify the style sheets, the primary issue is that Zotero itself cannot capture the fields needed. I think they could by adding a few types and a few free-form fields to allow layered citations, but that is a story for another day.
- EE-style citations are best used in the research stage (my opinion). They help with analyzing things in the research or input stages (if I may paraphrase EE). The layered citations help because in records like the census, different transcription errors happen, images are more or less clear, etc.
- The Output of our research can and may use different style formats. This opens up the choice of CMOS, Turabian, etc.
- Zotero is an amazing tool for organizing all of our research.
So with that in mind, my workflow looks like this:
Source Analysis
- I use a notetaking app called Zettlr that does markdown and is integrated with Zotero. You might use Evernote or other apps. It shouldn't matter. The important thing is that it connects to Zotero for citations.
- I start with a specific genealogy research question about a person, place, event, etc. "Where and when were ggpa Jim and ggma Sally married?"
- I create a research plan in the document and as I add sources, I add them to Zotero.
- For each source in Zotero, I create a book entry as below.
- I add a link to the entry to the digital image. If it is something I think will go away or change a lot, I may also just download the image and link that as well.
- I add an EE-style bib Note.
- I add a Transcription Note (or spreadsheet via link for things like a census).
- I add an Abstract Note (either Zettlr via link or Zotero as the case may be).
- I add a Source Analysis Note in Zotero.
Research Log
- I go through each source and create an EE-style citation Zotero Note. I take note of citation-specific data so I can easily copy/paste if needed.
- In Zettlr, as I'm doing research and want to cite something, I add a Zotero citation, pasting in any citation-specific data.
- I can export my Zettlr note to pdf or web or word doc or most any other format. The citations will be rendered.
- Only now do I worry about putting something in a genealogy program RM8/Ancestry for me. I don't bother with any output programs citation formats as long as they allow freeform so I can just paste into it.
- Genealogy programs are output systems. I don't think you should story anything permanent in them as they can change or go bust (yes, I am a former TMG user). I keep a tree in Ancestry (that I sync with whatever software I'm using) in case something like TMG happens again and I keep my sources, citations, and research in my own systems with tools like Zotero.
Writing
- On the Output side of things, I can just use Zotero formatted citations for the most part. Maybe they need additional formatting. If I really need EE-style, then I can copy/paste the citation I created as a final edit.
1870 U.S. Census, St. Louis County, Missouri, Central Township
| Item Type | Book | Renders best to me over Document/Manuscript in CMOS 17 |
| Title | 1870 U.S. Census, St. Louis County, Missouri, Central Township | This is how you partition one-to-very-many source to citations |
| Archive | citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 808 | The book format will render this in case I want an EE-style |
| URL | https://www.ancestry.com | |
| Series Number | population schedule | The book format will render this in case I want an EE-style |
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Wonderful information, Dan, and my apologies for only just seeing this.
Question: On putting the census information into the output document, are you typing the census detail as you call up the Zotero item in the Zotero Add-On? Do you put it where we might put a page number, if citing a book?
Also, I'd love to know more about Zettlr and how it links with Zotero. Can you share?
Thanks!
Donna
I guess I should create a new topic for my answers to that.
