What is the correct way to enter a census event in CFT ? I have been doing the date enumerated as the census date and in the Free Format area placing the ED number, sheet number, and page number. But this output when generating a webpage. Also on reports it makes a mess of this entry. Is there a better way to enter census data so that it shows correctly on webpages and reports ? Claude

I think you're looking at CFT "Events" in the wrong way. The way CFT works, the "Census" isn't an event, it's a source, and the key "events" that the census data generates on the CFT database are Address (or possibly Lived/Residence), Occupation and Birth (date & place). Treating the Census as a "source", and Birth as an "event" in CFT are obvious enough, but I know that having an Occupation or an Address as an "event", too, seems kind of crazy; but in CFT an "Event" is really only a fact about an individual person or a couple. (Or more strictly, it's a fact to which a date is normally attached, so that Sex and Name are not events, though Name Change is - as would Sex Change be if you ever came across it!) My suggestion for dealing with census data is as follows (examples based on the UK): Set up a source for each census e.g. "Census 1851" (or if you prefer "UK 1851 Census") Attach each source to an appropriate Repository e.g. Family Records Centre, (or maybe LDS Church for 1881) For each person showing up on the census: Use an "Address" event in CFT showing just the census date & the address; Use an "Occupation" event, if occupation appears on the census, and just show the census date & the occupation; Use a "Birth" event if this is the first time a person has shown up. Sometimes, e.g. on the 1841 UK census, you don't always get a real address, in which case I use "Lived" instead. In the case of a cohabiting couple, use a "couple" Address or Lived event - these reflect much more accurately what the real situation is, and read much better on reports. Put the census reference in the *Source* data for each one of the above events e.g. Film/Vol/Page: RG10/4029, Folio 46, Page 93 Personally, I also put the actual address (or place) in the Source "Note" (I feel that this helps to make the source reference more meaningful when you print out reports). My personal preference is *not* to show the Enumeration District or Schedule Number at all in CFT (applies only to the UK). Regards Les In message <20040923221718.NGJA1791.imf21aec.mail.bellsouth.net@DJ1D1R21>, Claude Sturman <sturmanc@bellsouth.net> writes >What is the correct way to enter a census event in CFT ? > >I have been doing the date enumerated as the census date and in the Free >Format area placing the ED number, sheet number, and page number. >But this output when generating a webpage. Also on reports it makes a mess >of this entry. > >Is there a better way to enter census data so that it shows correctly on >webpages and reports ? > >Claude > > > >==== CFT-WIN Mailing List ==== >You can contact the List Manager at: >CFT-WIN-admin@rootsweb.com > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > -- Les Bedford