| You will use a spreadsheet template to transcribe the 1820 Census. Excel or MSWorks templates are available for IBM
compatible PCs, and Excel or Clarisworks/Appleworks are available for MAC users. Your Census Project State Coordinator will need to know what spreadsheet software and which version you have and whether you have an IBM-type PC or a MAC. Email your Census Project State Coordinator if you did not receive a spreadsheet template with your assignment notification.
Alternate email for templates:
Transcriber@US-Census.org
You MUST use the correct census year template for the year you are transcribing because the columns vary for each census year. The 1820 template columns should match the columns on the census page from which you are transcribing.
You will need to copy EVERYTHING that is on your census. Hopefully, you will find an easily understood explanation of EVERYTHING in this document.
1820 Census Data
(not all questions may appear on your census)
The top of the 1820 census page may have the following:
The number of Persons within my Division, consisting of (county name), appears in a Schedule hereto annexed, subscribed by me, this (day), of (month) in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty. (enumerator's name) Assistant to the Marshall of (state). Schedule of the whole number of Persons within the Division allotted to (enumerator).
Don't be concerned if your census does NOT say that. Sometimes the enumerator's name appears at the very end of the census. One county may have had a first page with columns to go by, while another county had to make their own page up. Sometimes there will be no horizontal lines, and no line numbers. Remember, this was taken in 1820 the enumerations improved as time marched on.
| Name of head of household |
Names may appear on the census as "John Doe", but you will enter
the last name (Doe) in the "Last Name" column of your spreadsheet and
the first name (John) will be entered into the "First Name" column.
| Free White Males |
Free White Females |
under
10
years |
of 10
and
under
16 |
of 16
and
under
18 |
of 16
and
under
26 |
of 26
and
under
45 |
of 45
and
upwards |
under
10
years |
of 10
and
under
16 |
of 16
and
under
26 |
of 26
and
under
45 |
of 45
and
upwards |
Six columns are under the Male heading and five columns are under the Female heading. Each column is for a different age grouping. Enter the number seen.
| Number of Foreigners not Naturalized |
Enter the number seen.
| Occupations |
| Agriculture |
Commerce |
Manufacturing |
Three columns are under this heading. One for Agriculture,
Commerce and Manufacture. Enter the number seen.
| Male Slaves |
Female Slaves |
under
14
years |
of 14
and
under
26 |
of 26
and
under
45 |
of 45
and
upwards |
under
14
years |
of 14
and
under
25 |
of 26
and
under
44 |
of 45
and
upwards |
Four columns are under each heading, each for a different age
grouping. Enter the number seen.
| Free Black Males |
Free Black Females |
under
14
years |
of 14
and
under
26 |
of 26
and
under
45 |
of 45
and
upwards |
under
14
years |
of 14
and
under
26 |
of 26
and
under
45 |
of 45
and
upwards |
Four columns are under each heading, each for a different age
grouping. Enter the number seen.
| All other persons except Indians not taxed |
Enter the number seen.
TOTALS
Totals are given at the end of each column or at the end of the census.
It is not necessary to enter these totals, but if you want to enter them you
can. One census may have a total column on it, while another from the same year will not have a total column. So if you have NO total column, don't worry about it. When working with a copy of a census, the totals that were added at the bottom are sometimes cut off of the copy. Do not worry about this. If you enter the
column-totals that are added up at the bottom and have some that are unreadable, include a note with your finished transcription about them being unreadable. Any text file that you send along with your census will be included at the beginning of your transcription
if the notes are not extensive, and larger notes will be put in a "notes.txt"
file that will be placed in the same subfolder as your census files..
How to Enter the Census Data into the 1820 Spreadsheet Template
1st PART OF YOUR SPREADSHEET TEMPLATE
(Common Information Fill-in Block)
Enter the specific census information in the fill-in block. The fill-in
block will be either at the top of your spreadsheet, or on the far right of the
columned census headers, or on a separate worksheet.
- Census Year
- Microfilm Reel # - The 1820 Microfilm Reel numbers all start with M33- followed by another number. Check the Assignment Web Pages to verify the film number of your transcription.
- State
- County or Parish
- District, City, Town, or any other named area division
- Enumerator's Name
- Your name/email as the transcriber
- Your proofreader's name/email
- The source of your census material (CD, microfilm, etc.)
2nd PART OF YOUR SPREADSHEET TEMPLATE
The 2nd part of your template will have columns and column headings for each of the columns in the 1820 census plus a Page# and a Line# column.
All the information is to be entered exactly as recorded by the enumerator, except when the enumerator used "ditto", ditto marks ( " ), or the word "do"
for the NAMES. In this case, please enter the information that the ditto mark represents.
NOTE: Some of the Enumerators used two little
marks that look like "ditto" marks in the number-columns in each category when
there was no number for that category to signify they had not missed that
column, just ignore these.
PAGE NUMBERS
There may be more than one number on each census page. The numbers may be
stamped or handwritten. If there is a stamped number, enter it in the Page#
column.
If you find two stamped page numbers on a census, (1) check the State/Year Index to see which number was used, or (2) if transcribing from the SK Publication book or CD, follow the numbering used in the SK Publication Index
or CD.
A handwritten page number, in addition to the stamped page number, may have been written on each census page by the photographers who microfilmed the census. Do not be concerned if these handwritten page numbers are not in order.
If there is a 2nd (Handwritten) Page# type it in the Remarks column for the
first name on the page that does not already have something in the Remarks..
Transcription Example: Handwritten page # 45
LINE NUMBERS
Many early censuses do not have line numbers, but you will enter line
numbers on the spreadsheet template as if they did. The enumerator may have put
anywhere from 20-50 names on a page, it just depends on how many he wanted on a
page or how many he could fit onto a page. Begin each new page with Line# 1 if
no line numbers are written on the census. Line numbering will help you keep
track of your transcription progress and will help when a proofreader needs to
refer to one of the names when contacting you. Later on it will help
researchers looking up your transcription on a census.
ENUMERATION DATES
Many of the earlier census years do not have an Enumeration Date. If your
census does, and if your template does not have a separate column for Enum/Date,
either insert a column for this purpose to the left of the REMARKS column or
type the Enum-Date in the REMARKS column of the first name on the page that does
not already have something in the Remarks column.
CITY, TOWN, TOWNSHIP, OR ANY OTHER NAMED AREA DIVISION
Many of the earlier census years do not specify separate division names.
If your census does, and if your template does not have a separate column for
TWP/DIV, either insert a column for this purpose to the left of the REMARKS
column, or type the Twp/Div name in the REMARKS column of the first name on the
page that does not already have something in the Remarks column.
When you complete the transcription of a division, we recommend that you send it
to your proofreader so the proofreading can be started while you continue to
work on the rest of your census. That way, it can be placed online as
"partial" while the transcription is still in progress.
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD NAMES
Names must be entered EXACTLY as you see them recorded on the census.
- Do not abbreviate a name if the enumerator wrote out the entire name and do not spell out the full name when he abbreviated it. If you see Wm, enter Wm. If you see William, enter William.
- Do not correct the enumerator's spelling errors. Even if it is your own family and the name is terribly mispelled, enter it exactly as it appears on the census.
- When the enumerator used "ditto", ditto marks ( " ), or the word "do", please enter the name that the ditto mark represents. See example dittos marks the enumerator may have used.
- If a name was abbreviated, and the final letter is a little raised, add an apostrophe in place of the omitted letters in the name.
Transcription Example: Thos - you would enter: Tho's
- Questionable letters in a name should be indicated by an asterisk * and you may want to put a note in the Remarks field of that line to note that some letters are hard to read or unreadable.
Transcription Example - LAST NAME: D*e
FIRST NAME: Jo*n
- Titles (ie: Jr., Sr., Dr.) are to be entered at the end of the person's first name(s).
Transcription Example - LAST NAME: Doe FIRST NAME:
John Sr.
- Enter NS (no surname) *ONLY* for names such as:
- Brother Ignatius
- Sister Mary
- American Indian Names (Running Doe)
- Servants (John A man of color)
* Look closely for surname ditto marks before you use NS. See these examples.
Template Tips
The Remarks column
It is the right-most column on your template. Please use the remarks field to enter everything on the census that needs to be brought to the attention of a researcher or any other information you feel is important. (ie:
any additional writing on the census; if a name is hard to read or unreadable; a
disruption in the numbering sequence; etc.) If the comment you want to
make is too long for the Remarks field, type your information on a separate
worksheet if your software has multiple worksheets, or in a separate file and
reference the page and line number so researchers will know what line you are
referring to. When you submit your census transcription to the Census Project,
you can include the extra comments file at that same time. If you do not have a
Remarks column on your template, you may insert one on the right of the other
columns.
How to Freeze the Template Column Headers
Using Excel, you can freeze the column headings of the first page, and several of the left columns. The frozen areas will remain visible while the entered data scrolls underneath the headers and off the screen. It is much easier to enter the census information when you can see the column header and row name for the line you are entering.
- To freeze the top horizontal header rows, select the row below where you want the split to occur.
- To freeze the left vertical columns, select the column to the right of where you want the split to occur.
- To freeze both the horizontal headers, and the vertical columns click the cell below and to the right of where you want the split to appear.
Note: If you move the top census information block off the screen before you do step 2, it will leave more screen room for the rows you are entering. To do this, use the horizontal scroll bar and the up/down triangle pointer buttons at the top and bottom of the scroll bar and scroll so that you see only the column header at the top of the screen and not the 6 or 7 rows that contain the census info.
- On the menu-bar, click "Window".
On the "Window" drop-down menu list, click "Freeze Panes".
- Later if you want to undo the frozen panes:
On the menu-bar, click "Window".
On the "Window" drop-down menu list, click "Unfreeze Panes".
MAKE A BACKUP COPY!
To make a backup copy of your census file, after finishing for the day and
saving the file to your hard drive, do a "File, SAVE AS" and save it somewhere else on your computer OR on a diskette. If the file gets too big for a diskette, use a ZIP Program to zip it so that it will fit onto the disk. Better
to be safe than to lose all of your hard work from a computer problem.
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