SHEET NUMBERS
The "SHEET No." is the hand-written number that appears in the upper right-corner. On the A-pages there will be a pre-printed A after the line on which the Enumerator wrote the sheet number. On the B-pages there will be a pre-printed B after the line for the hand-written sheet number. Include the A or B in the Sheet No. column after the sheet number, and again no spaces - put the A or B immediately after the number.
Transcription Example: SHEET# 1A
LINE NUMBER
Enter each line number as you enter each new person. The line numbers on the
"A" pages are numbered 1 through 50, and on the "B" pages
are numbered 51 through 100.
STREET
The street name (if included) will be written sideways.
NOTE:
You will need to repeat the Street Name for each person the street
encompasses. DO NOT merge the cells and turn the letters sideways. The
text files that are created from your spreadsheet cannot handle sideways text.
STREET NUMBER
Enter what you see, if they have filled this in. The street number was more
likely filled in when the census was taken in a city and not a rural area.
HOUSE NUMBER
Enter what you see, if they have filled this in. The house number was more
likely filled in when the census was taken in a city and not a rural area.
DWELLING NUMBER (1) and FAMILY NUMBER (2)
Enter these numbers as they change. Do not worry if the enumerator skipped numbers or numbered backwards. If the numbers aren't in the correct sequence, please add a comment about it in the Remarks field to indicate that you did not make a mistake with the numbering. Occasionally you will see two or more Family Numbers with the same Dwelling Number. Enter what you see.
Occasionally a word will be entered in these columns instead of a number. An
example would be the word "Jail". If you see something like this,
enter the word in the column it appears if it is a small word. Also, at times
they may write sideways that this is a boarding house or tavern house, in this
case you can enter in the Remarks field, that "boarding house is written
in for lines X to X".
LAST NAME (3) and FIRST NAME (3)
The 1910 enumeration included the name of every person living on April
15, 1910, omitting those born after April 15, 1910. Names may appear on the census as "John Doe", but you will enter the last name (Doe) in the Last Name field and the first name (John) will be entered into the First Name field.
- 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
misspelled, 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.
RELATIONSHIP TO HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD (4)
Enter the person's relationship to the head of the household as seen on the census. You could see self, wife, daughter, son, step son, step daughter, granddaughter, grandson, mother, father, uncle, cousin, brother in law, sister in law, brother, sister,
(etc.). Enter what is written in. If nothing is written in, leave it blank.
SEX (5)
Entered as M or F. If the sex was not recorded or if it is unreadable, enter the letter U and add a note in the Remarks field about it being unreadable or not being entered. Occasionally the enumerator recorded the age and sex in the wrong fields. If you run across a record like that, enter them in the correct places and add a note about it in the Remarks field for that individual. IF you find a
Nancy marked as a male or a William marked as a female, please enter the sex as you see it, but make a note about it in the Remarks field to let others know that you did not make a typo.
COLOR OR RACE (6)
Enter what is listed. The 1910 options were W (white), B (black), Mu (Mulatto),
Ch (Chinese), Jp (Japanese), In
(Indian), or Ot (other). If there is no entry, leave it blank. The census taker may have
marked every person, or he may have only marked persons who were not
white. If the column is empty, leave it empty.
AGE AT LAST BIRTHDAY (7)
Enter the age seen. IF you can not read the age or if there is no age listed, enter the letter "U" and add a note in the Remarks field about it not being there or being unreadable. If you find two children with the same age listed, note it in the Remarks field. This is just a "silent" way of saying you didn't make a typo and yes there are two children the same age in this household. BEFORE you type in "twins", are you absolutely sure they are twins and not cousins being raised in the same household because of deceased parents? There are some cases, where it IS noted on the census that the children are twins, and in that case, then please note
that it is noted as twins on the census.
The ages for the infants should be entered just as the enumerator wrote them. You might see a fraction, such as 4/12 (representing four months) or
maybe a zero (0). Enter the numbers exactly as recorded. If he wrote mos. or months after the number or fraction, then type that same information. If your spreadsheet software insists on converting the fraction ages to a date, simply type an apostrophe ( ' ) immediately before the fraction to force the spreadsheet to treat the following information as text.
SINGLE, MARRIED, WIDOWED, OR DIVORCED (8)
If the individual was single, widowed or divorced the enumerator might have
entered the letter S for single, M1 for married once, (M2 for married more than
once), Wd for
widowed, D for divorced, or he may have just made
a mark in the column. IF he entered S, M1, M2, Wd or D, then do the same. IF
he just made a mark then enter the letter X. Enter what you see.
NUMBER OF YEARS MARRIED (9)
If the individual was married, the number of years married will be recorded
in this field. You might see a fraction such as 8/12, which would stand for
8 months, or you could see any other number. Enter the numbers seen. If
your spreadsheet software insists on converting a fraction to a date, either
format the cell (or entire column) for "text" before typing in a cell, or simply
type an apostrophe immediately before the fraction to force the spreadsheet
to treat the following information in that cell as text.
MOTHER OF HOW MANY CHILDREN (10)
The number of children the mother had borne will be recorded in this field.
Enter the number as seen.
NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING (11)
The number of living children the mother had will be recorded in this field.
Enter the number as seen. She may have had 4 children, but only 2 were living
when the enumeration was taken, so the numbers can be different.
PLACE OF BIRTH (12) and PLACE OF BIRTH OF FATHER (13) and PLACE OF BIRTH OF MOTHER (14)
Enter the Place of Birth as you see it spelled. Do NOT correct spelling
or abbreviation errors. The enumerator may have used the 2 letter code for
a state, or he may have written the whole word out, or he may have written
his own abbreviation for a state or place name. New York can be found as NY,
New York and N.York. If only one letter was entered, that is all you can enter
too and note it in the Remarks field. Example, a birthplace was listed as only "O",
we do not know if that means Ohio, Oregon, or Oklahoma. Enter only what you see.
YEAR OF IMMIGRATION (15)
What year did they come to the US? Enter the number seen.
WHETHER NATURALIZED OR ALIEN (16)
IF this column is filled in, you should see a Na (for Naturalized), Pa (for 1st
papers), or an Al (for alien). Enter what you see.
ABLE TO SPEAK ENGLISH (17)
It was asked what language they spoke. If they did not speak English, the
language was suppose to be written in. You might see English, German,
French, etc.. Enter what you see.
TRADE OR PROFESSION (18)
Enter as you see it spelled. This site,
Old Time Jobs, might help you to figure out some of those occupations. The Occupation might be the first field that you start seeing "ditto", ditto marks ( " ), or the word "do". Do NOT use ditto marks. Enter
the occupation that the ditto mark represents.
GENERAL NATURE OF INDUSTRY (19)
What was the nature of their industry? If their occupation was mail
carrier, they may have answered that the nature of their industry was
Rural Route, or farmer could have answered as General Farm or Home/Farm.
Enter what you see.
EMPLOYER OR EMPLOYEE ON ACCOUNT (20)
You may see the letter E, Emp, Empl. or the full word, Employer. OA (if they were
working on account), W (working for a wage). The field might be blank. Enter what you see.
OUT OF WORK on April 15, 1910 (21)
Were they out of work? If this column is answered, you will either see Yes
or No. If all you see is just a mark, enter an X in this column,
otherwise, enter what you see.
NUMBER OF WEEKS OUT OF WORK DURING 1909, if an employee (22)
If the individual was an employee, he was asked how many weeks he was out
of work the previous year. Enter what you see.
ABLE TO READ (23) and ABLE TO WRITE (24)
Can they read or write? This may be answered with a Y, Yes, N, or No. Enter what
you see.
ATTENDED SCHOOL (25)
If the individual attended school since Sept. 1, 1909, the number of months
they attended might be recorded in this field. They may
have entered a Y, Yes, N, or No. Enter what you see.
OWN OR RENT HOME (26)
Did they own or rent the house they are living in? This might have been answered
with the
letter O (for owned), or the letter R (for rented). Enter what you see.
OWNED FREE OF MORTGAGE (27)
Do they own the home without a mortgage? This might have been answered
with the letter F (for Free), the letter M (for mortgaged). Enter what you see.
FARM OR HOME (28)
Is the place a Farm or a Home? This might have been answered with the letter F
(for farm) or an H (for home). Enter what you see.
NUMBER OF FARM SCHEDULE (29)
What is their farm schedule number? Enter the number seen.
SURVIVOR OF UNION or CONFEDERATE ARMY OR NAVY (30)
Whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy --- The
actual instructions given to the enumerators: Write "UA"
if a survivor of the Union Army, "UN" if a survivor of the
Union Navy, "CA" if a survivor of the Confederate Army, and
"CN" if a survivor of the confederate Navy. For all
other persons leave the column blank.
BLIND (31)
Whether blind (both eyes) --- The actual instructions given to
the enumerators: If a person is either totally or partially
blind, in both eyes, so as not to be able to read even with the help
of glasses, write "Bl." For all other persons leave
the column blank..
DEAF AND DUMB (32)
Whether deaf and dumb --- The actual instructions given to the
enumerators: If a person is both deaf and dumb, write
"DD." For all other persons leave the column
blank. Persons who are deaf but not dumb, or persons who are
dumb but not deaf, are not to be reported.
