Scott: In my research, I create a master source for each Census year with all the Census information of the family members, ages, Occupation, etc. I normally associate each Census year with a primary family member (Head of the household - father usually). So, in your example, I would have 4 master Census records - 1850, 60, 70 & 80. I would correct the date of birth using the 5th Source (1900).
My normal steps are as follows: 1. Create a Census event for the person as follows: A. Event/Fact: Census B. Date: 21 Aug 1850 (date on census record) C. Place: Hocking, Fairfield Co, OH, USA -- Census location 2. Source this event as follow: A. Source List Name: Census - 1850 - Hocking, Fairfield Co, OH - Chapman, Joseph B. Source Title: Census - 1850 - Hocking, Fairfield Co, OH - Chapman, Joseph C. Publication Fact: Year: 1850; Census Place: Hocking, Fairfield, Ohio; Roll M432_677; Page: 327B; Image: 403. Joseph Chapman, age 47, b. abt 1803, OH; Occupation: Carpenter. Elizabeth, age 41, b. abt 1809, VA; Hannah, age 25, b. abt 1825, VA; Wells H., age 23, b. abt 1827, OH; Mary age 20, b. abt 1830, OH; Rebecca, age 15, b. abt 1835, OH; Levi, age 13, b. abt 1837, OH; James, age 10, b. abt 1840, OH; Sarah, age 7, b. abt 1843, OH; Francis, age 5, b. abt 1845, OH; Emila, age 3, b. abt 1847, OH . D: Record Date: 21 Aug 1850 3. Now copied this source to your clipboard within Legacy and also copy the event within Legacy. I then add this event to each person on the Census and also source the name, and birth of each person on the census. If there is an occupation sited, then I would also create an Occupation event and use the source above. In my opinion, you should do this for each Census year / Source. This will be very useful when you use the Chronology report for a person because it will should where the person lived at each of the 10 years. You can also use the mapping to show where this person moved during his lifetime. This method will help you in many ways to find other records for the family as they moved during their lifetime. You should always use the Census Events in this way in my opinion. I would use all the sources you can find and in the notes for the person, you can explain any analysis (e.g., true birth date) that you have found. All of the sources are important pieces of information and should be documented as is. Hope this helps. ___ Leon Chapman [email protected] ----- On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 11:49 AM, Scott Hall <[email protected]> wrote: > A search of the archives pulled some threads on this topic, but from a > few years back, so I thought revisiting it would be OK. > > I'm still trying to figure out the best way to record multiple sources > that provide a single piece of information. There seem to be three > key considerations: > 1. Whether each source corroborates or conflicts with the other sources > 2. The surety level of the source (e.g. primary v. secondary) > 3. Keeping track of your research history (identifying that you've > researched a source) > > There must be a balance between these considerations. > > For example, let's say your only record of a particular ancestor is > the U.S. census, and appeared in all censuses from 1850–1880. Let's > also assume that the each census accurately shows his age in intervals > of 10 (in other words, the censuses corroborate each other). Because > you have no other record of his birthdate, you can calculate the range > based on his age. If, in 1850, he was 25, you know he must have been > born between 2 Jun 1824 and 1 Jun 1825, given the census date of June > 1. As implied above, the 1860, 70, and 80 censuses list his age as > 35, 45, and 55, respectively, all calculating to the same birth range. > Do you list all four censuses as sources? > > Now, let's add the 1900 census to our example, which again > corroborates the earlier censuses, listing your ancestor at age 75 and > providing the month and year of birth, say August 1824. I assume > you'd replace the birth range with the month and year provided by the > 1900 census, but what do you do with the other censuses as sources? > Do you leave them (and if so, how do you indicate that they are only > corroborating, as none support August 1824, just the range)? Do you > remove them entirely (and if so, how do you note that you have, in > fact, researched them)? > > Let's add another piece of information to our example—a death > certificate. Although the census is a fairly reputable source, its > likely lower on the surety scale than an official death certificate. > Let's say the death certificate again corroborates the censuses, > listing your ancestors birthdate as 15 August 1824. Again, you update > the field and cite the certificate, but what you do with the censuses > as sources? > > Lastly, let's twist the scenario slightly—let's say the death > certificate does NOT provide you ancestor's date of birth, but rather > only the date of and age at death. If he died on 5 September 1901 at > age 77 years, 0 months, and 21 days, you could alculate the birth date > as 15 August 1824. But proper protocal demands that you prefix this > date with "Cal." to show that the date was calculated. Now what do > you do with the censuses as sources? > > We could continue the example with other records that corroborrate or > conflict, such as obituaries, cemetery indexes, tombstones, etc. All > have varying levels of surety. You want to know that you reviewed > each source, so as not to duplicate your work, but do you want a > catalog of every source you've ever looked at? If not, how do you > balance keeping track of what you've reviewed, having sufficient > sources such that the conclusion can be reasonably supported, and > keeping your data file neat and organized and your reports crisp and > not burdened with excessive redundancy? > > Scott > > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
