More About Census Recording

A&D lets you record census data, but in a more efficient manner than that of a simple census or database application. With A&D, you simply create:

A Source record to identify each census page, or set of pages, in source citation form. Here you record the census identification information, such as country, year, enumeration district, etc.
An Individual record for each person listed in the census and that you wish to track—if the person is not already in your A&D database. Also link the Individual record to the Source record, and enter the census data about the individual—such as sex, race or color, occupation, state or country of birth, religion (if a Canadian census), immigration year, etc.
A Relationship record for each family group listed in the census and that you wish to track—if the relationship is not already in your A&D database. This is where you link together all the children with their parents, link to the Source record, and record the total number of children reported in the census.
An optional Household record to record geographical data and link all the individuals together to form an analog of the census record. You can identify employees, slaves, and boarders, as well as the full address or other description of the household, institution, or business listed in census.

The major advantages of A&D for recording census data include:

Each Household record covers a span of time and may cover multiple censuses. If a family lived in the same house or farm for 30 years and appeared in three successive censuses, only one Household record is created. Thus, the address information is entered only once. In this example, the Household record identifies the three censuses via three Source links.
Each individual's name and personal data are entered only once, regardless of how many times they appear in successive censuses. If the person's name varies, you can add one or more Alias records to record the name variations.
Each individual's record and many of his or her printed reports show exactly in which censuses that person has been found.
All individuals entered from all censuses are automatically indexed alphabetically and can be accessed and linked via that index. The index also includes all aliases.
A&D is not limited to relatives. Unrelated persons shown in the census can be included.
Linking of census sources to individuals, relationships, and households is extremely fast and simple. And changing or resequencing linked sources is quick and easy when needed.
Standard printed reports help manage census research. For example:
- Source Summary reports provide statistics on how many Canadian 1881 census sources you have found.
- Source Usage reports let you verify that each census is properly linked to the appropriate individuals, relationships, and households shown on it.
- A Residences report shows a person's movement through successive households.

Although A&D does not have specific fields for every field ever used on any census from every country, text notes can be used to record any data not already covered.

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