Terry's TMG Tips

Terry's Census Tag
Simpler Version for 1850 and Later US Census
For TMG 8 and earlier

This page updated 26 Feb 2007

Applies to Version 8

This article describes the Census Tag that I previously used for the 1850 and later US census - the years in which every member of the household was named. I expect the techniques could be adapted to any other census that list each member of household by name. While I now use a more capable structure, I've retained this description of the simpler version because some users may prefer it. A more updated version using new Sentence Variables introduced in TMG 9 is described in the current version of this article.

My article on Recording Census Information describes my approach to recording census information, which is generally aligned with the Census tag I describe here, and some important caveats about its application. Two companion articles describe my Pre-1850 Census tag, and my current Census tag for 1850 and later.

What It Does

The Census Tag I describe below records and provides output in narrative reports the following information:

For the head(s) of household:

For the other members of the household:

Thus this tag produces narrative reports that state, in the narrative about the child, that the children were enumerated with their parents. It does not list the children (or others) in the narrative about the parents. The main reason for this is that to list all the other members of the household with the head of household, and to include statements of relationship, can be pretty messy (and I don't think it reads very well to just list the names, without showing the relationships). To do so, you have to account for the possibility of one or more than one child, and if more than one, of the same or different sex. Then, there are lots other kinds of relationships that members of the household have to the head of household, – daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, with or without their children, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters... the list goes on and on with endless combinations. And, if you like Journal narratives for the whole family, listing all members of the household with with the head of household entry and also noting it for each member creates repetitive entries.

I used this system for a number of years. But with my increasing use of Second Site as an output medium, I found it helpful to change to a more complex system that does list all members of the household with the head of household narrative. The system that lists all members of the household is described here. But since that system uses some advanced techniques, and many readers have said they find this simpler system satisfactory, I've decided to retain the description of it in this article.

Sentence Structures for 1850 to 1870 Census

Below are the Roles and corresponding Sentence Structures I use for the 1850 Census Tag. Those for 1860 and 1870 are the same except for the change in the year. I created custom Sentences for the standard Principal and Witness Roles, and created the three custom Roles listed.

Role                            Sentence
Principal [P]<|and [PO]> appeared on the 1850 Federal Census< of [L]>< enumerated [D]><, [M]>
Witness [W] appeared on the 1850 Federal Census< of [L]> in the household of [P]< and [PO]><, [WM]><[M0]>
with Parents [W] appeared on the 1850 Federal Census< of [L]> in the household of his parents [P] and [PO]<, [WM]><[M0]>
with Father [W] appeared on the 1850 Federal Census< of [L]> in the household of his father [P]<, [WM]><[M0]>
with Mother [W] appeared on the 1850 Federal Census< of [L]> in the household of his mother [P]<, [WM]><[M0]>

Use:

  • Enter the Head of Household, and spouse, if present, as Principals. Leave the default Role "Principal."
  • Enter any children of the Head(s) of Household, as Witnesses. Assign the Role "with Parents," "with Father," or "with Mother" as appropriate.
  • Enter any other person listed, who you want to include in your data set, as Witnesses. Apply the Role "Witness."

Note:

  • The last three Roles also have a Female sentence structure, in which "his" is changed to "her."
  • If you are not familiar with the use of Roles, the discussion in my Roles Tutorial article may help.
  • For help with creating the Sentences involved, see my article on Modifying Sentence Structures.

Sentence Structures for 1880 and Later Census

In 1880 it became common for the census to report the full address of the household, so I use slightly different sentence structures for 1880 and later censuses, as follows.

Role                            Sentence
Principal [P] <|and [PO]> appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of< [LCI],>< [LCN],> [LS]<, at [LD]><, enumerated [D]><, [M]>
Witness [W] appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of< [LCI],>< [LCN],> [LS], in the household of [P] <and [PO]><, [WM]><[M0]>
with Parents [W] appeared on the 1880 Federal Census <of [LCI],>< [LCN],> [LS] in the household of his parents [P] and [PO]<, [WM]><[M0]>
with Father [W] appeared on the 1880 Federal Census <of [LCI],>< [LCN],> [LS] in the household of his father [P]<, [WM]><[M0]>
with Mother [W] appeared on the 1880 Federal Census <of [LCI],>< [LCN],> [LS] in the household of his mother [P]<, [WM]><[M0]>

Use:

  • Enter the Head of Household, and spouse, if present, as Principals. Leave the default Role "Principal."
  • Enter any children of the Head(s) of Household, as Witnesses. Assign the Role "with Parents," "with Father," or "with Mother" as appropriate.
  • Enter any other person listed, who you want to include in your data set, as Witnesses. Apply the Role "Witness."

Note:

  • The first two Roles are the standard "Principal" and "Witness" Roles with custom sentences.
  • The last three Roles also have a Female sentence structure, in which "his" is changed to "her."

Entering Data in the Census Tag

his daughter and son-in-law

which produces a narrative like:

He appeared on the 1920 Federal Census of Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana, in the household of August H. Rodefeld and Amelia D. Smith, his daughter and son-in-law.

About the <[M0]> Variable

The <[M0]> (that's zero) in the witness sentences is to prevent the printing of the main tag Memo for those people if one of the memo options is turned on in the Report Definition screen. Note that when you use <[M0]> you must include the angle brackets, since, by definition, [M0] is empty and thus if you omit them you will get a note about an "unknown" item.


ReigelRidge Home Terry's Tips Home Contact Terry

 

 

Copyright 2000- by Terry Reigel