The Famous Ovaltine Decoder Ring |
As genealogists, we strive to extract every last bit of
information from a record. This, of course, is a good thing, all things
considered.
The problem comes when we try to read too much into a record
and then start to see things that aren’t really there.
Surely that mark or code must mean something important,
we tell ourselves, otherwise why would it be there in the first place?
Do we need to get ourselves a secret decoder ring?
For example, now that the images of the 1940 Federal census
are available for free in a number of locations online, people are flocking to
the sites, downloading the images that they need, and now puzzling over some of
the cryptic additions that were added to the census sheets once they reached
the Bureau of the Census in Washington.
Could these cryptic codes added by the Census Bureau clerks contain
additional information that would better help us understand the census entries
in question? If we knew exactly what
they meant, might we better understand some small part of our ancestors’ lives? Really, do we need that ring?
Actually… probably not.
Once the 1940 census sheets got to the Bureau of the Census
in Washington, coding clerks went through them, looking for obvious mistakes,
inconsistencies and so on. An elaborate
coding protocol was established so that the results could be quickly tabulated
mechanically. For example, if someone
self-reported as “married”, but no spouse was present in the household, coding
clerks were instructed to draw a line through the census taker’s “M” and write
the code “7” in the space. Thus a penciled
“7” means “self-reporting as married, but no spouse present.”
So, does this add anything to the researcher’s understanding
of the census entry?
Actually… probably not.
The census entry clearly shows that the spouse is not
present in the enumerated household. It
is not possible to tell from either the entry or from the coder’s actions
whether the person coded as a “7” is married or not, even though he or she
self-reports as such.
In reality, the coding clerks in Washington were not privy
to any additional information. Their only
job was to code the information on the census sheets so that they could be
machine-tabulated. The coding operation
was elaborate, employing, at its peak, 848 clerks working in two shifts. There were general population coding clerks
for the initial review, “comparison clerks” and even special editors to review
and pass judgment on the new migration information contained in the question
about residence in 1935.
Still, the information being coded was simply the
information on the census sheets, as filled in by the census taker, nothing
more and nothing less. The Washington
coding clerks were not endowed with special powers to know more about your
ancestors than what was recorded by the census takers in the field, and even
THAT information may be suspect.
Of course, sometimes, the code or correction was used to adjust
a census taker’s failure to follow instructions.
For example, enumerators addicted to detail often put exact
amounts in column 33 in spite of instructions to the contrary (column 33 was the “other income” column). The Washington coding clerks were instructed to
cancel out the amount and replace amounts over $50 with “yes” and amounts below
$50 with “no.” After all, that was what
the question actually asked. It was a “did
you” question, not a “how much” question. Similarly, in the “income” column (Column 32) coders were instructed to cancel
amounts over $6,000 and replace them with “$5,000+”
For those interested in the specifics of the Bureau of the
Census’s 1940 coding operation, one of the best sources of information is an
extensive document about the procedural history of the 1940 census on the
IPUMS-USA website. IPUMS is not a
genealogy site; it is the acronym for the “Integrated Public Use Microdata Series” and is part of the University of Minnesota’s PopulationCenter. Data geeks, statisticians and epidemiologists –
all of whom use census data – are the primary users of this site.
Here’s the specific link to the procedural history: http://usa.ipums.org/usa/resources/voliii/enumproc1940.pdf
(Note: if you were at my talk at the wildly successful New York Genealogical and Biographical Society - New York Public Library’s
“Road to the 1940 Census” event on March 24th, you would have found
a link to the IPUMS site in my handout and would possibly have remembered my
exhortation to the audience of nearly 500 genealogists to “Read the Enumerator’s Instructions and also Read The Procedural
Histories”, both of which can be found on the IPUMS website.)
Bottom line:
Sometimes, what you see on the population schedule is actually all there
is. Coding clerks are rarely in a position
to add new or more conclusive information.
Sometimes – and with all due apologies to Sigmund Freud - ,
a cigar is just a cigar, no matter how much we’d like to have it convey much
more meaning.
Great info, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this, very helpful!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog via your interview with Gini at GeneaBloggers. I love what you are doing here.
ReplyDeleteSharon pointed me to your post and your example is exactly the situation that's puzzling me! Thank you! I can now continue with my indexing. :-)
ReplyDeletebanyak yang menarik silahkan kunjungi www.ayamsabung.com
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMODAL SEDIKIT MENANG BANYAK
Segera daftarkan diri anda di FIFAPOKER
youtube sabung ayam
ReplyDeleteMau Banyak Bonus?, Yuk Gabung Disini >> sabung ayam pilipin
ReplyDeleteyuk main sabung ayam
ReplyDeleteayam sabung birma indonesia
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMUSEUMBOLA ADALAH WEBSITE JUDI KASINO ONLINE,SPORTSBOOK,TOGEL,SABUNG AYAM,POKER DLL
ReplyDeleteMUSEUMBOLA WEBSITE JUDI GAME PALING TERLENGKAP.
SUPPORT DEPOSIT VIA PULSA,OVO,LINKAJA,DANA,GOPAY DLL
SUPPORT BANK BCA,BRI,BNI,MANDIRI,CIMB,DANAMON,JENIUS BTPN,BTN,NOBU, SUPPORT SEMUA BANK
HUB WHATSAPP OFFICIAL KAMI PERIHAL PENDAFTARAN +6283157394921
ATAU BISA LANSUNG DAFTAR DI LINK >> www.museumbola.site/?ref=museumbola
BANDAR KASINO VIA OVO PULSA BANK DLL WWW.MUSEUMBOLA.SITE
ReplyDeleteSEGERA DAFTARKAN DIRI ANDA KLIK LINK ==> www.museumbola.site/?ref=museumbola
ATAU BISA DIBANTU DAFTARKAN USERID ANDA DENGAN CS KAMI YANG PALING RAMAH SEDUNIA
SILAHKAN DI ADD WHATSAPP OFFICIAL KAMI HANYA DI +6283157394921
TERIMA KASIH DAN SALAM JP BOSKU!
www.museumbola.com
ReplyDeletewww.museumtoto.com
www.museumpoker.com
www.museumayam.com
MUSEUM GROUP BANDAR JUDI TERBAIK DAN TERPERCAYA
SILAHKAN DI AKSES DAN DAFTARKAN DIRI ANDA.
TERIMA KASIH!!
segera bergabung bersama kita dan nikmati bonus-bonusnya hanya untuk pemain museumbola saja ya.
ReplyDeletebisa di klik link,lansung daftarkan diri anda ==>> www.museumbola.site/?ref=museumbola
Atau bisa dibantu daftarkan userid anda dengan CS kami yang ramah di Whastapp official kami hanya di +6283157394921
Di Tunggu kehadiran nya ya bosku :)
MUSEUMBOLA AGEN JUDI CASINO TERBAIK DAN TERPERCAYA MENYEDIAKAN BONUS HARIAN 5% , SETIAP HARI NYA.
ReplyDeleteBonus Next Deposit 5%
1. Promosi ini hanya berlaku untuk Member yang telah terdaftar di Museumbola
2. Minimal deposit untuk claim bonus 100.000
3. Maximal bonus yang diberikan 3.000.000
4. Bonus diberikan hanya 1 kali dalam sehari ( Wajib Claim )
5. Bonus berlaku untuk semua game yang tersedia di Museumbola
6. Syarat withdraw Turn Over 5x dari nilai Deposit + Bonus ( tidak capai TO Bonus tarik 20% dari total credit )
7. Maximal Bet sesuai dari nilai Deposit + Bonus. Jika ada yang melanggar maka TO tidak Terhitung
8. Diwajibkan untuk melakukan konfirmasi ke Live Chat, Sebelum credit dimainkan
9. Apabila sudah mengambil promo ini. maka tidak akan mendapatkan bonus Cashback lagi
10. Dilarang Bet Mixparlay / kiri-kanan dengan player lain, Jika melanggar maka bonus akan ditarik kembali beserta hasil kemenangan
segera bergabung bersama kita dan nikmati bonus-bonusnya hanya untuk pemain museumbola saja ya.
bisa di klik link,lansung daftarkan diri anda ==>> www.museumbola.site/?ref=museumbola
Atau bisa dibantu daftarkan userid anda dengan CS kami yang ramah di Whastapp official kami hanya di +6283157394921
Di Tunggu kehadiran nya ya bosku :)
Bonus Cashback 5 - 15 % Setiap Minggu
ReplyDelete1. Semua member Museumbola berhak mendapatkan bonus Cashback 5% - 15%
• Bonus Cashback 5% Dengan Minimal Kekalahan 100.000
• Bonus Cashback 10% Dengan Minimal Kekalahan 30.000.000
• Bonus Cashback 15% Dengan Minimal Kekalahan 50.000.000
3. Bonus hanya berlaku untuk permainan Sportbook ( Ubobet, Sbobet, CMD368 )
2. Cashback di hitung dari total kekalahan dalam 1 minggu ( Senin-Minggu ) dan Bonus Cashback dibagikan setiap hari SELASA
3. Bonus Cashback dapat langsung di withdraw tanpa syarat
4. Bonus Cashback hanya berlaku untuk memeber yang tidak mengikuti bonus apapun di Museumbola
segera bergabung bersama kita dan nikmati bonus-bonusnya hanya untuk pemain museumbola saja ya.
bisa di klik link,lansung daftarkan diri anda ==>> www.museumbola.site/?ref=museumbola
Atau bisa dibantu daftarkan userid anda dengan CS kami yang ramah di Whastapp official kami hanya di +6283157394921
Di Tunggu kehadiran nya ya bosku :)
ReplyDeletePerkenalkan kita dewasakti ingin memberikan review sebuah website Judi Online seperti judi bola & poker online terbaik di indonesia dengan pendaftaran gratis dan mudah tentunya.
Baca Juga
Forum Judi Online
ayo bagi yg suka maen judi ayam on line
ReplyDeletedi bolavita tempat nya banyak sekali bonus2 menarik
dan game2 on line terlengakap se indonesia
dengan pelayanan 24 jam yg sangat ramah
ayam laga indonesia
ayo segera daftar dan buktikan sendiri
info lbh lanjut:
whatup : +62812-2222-995
Alasan Kenapa Kamu Harus Bermain Judi Di Museumbola
ReplyDelete* Permainan Lengkap dari A sampai Z
* Opsi Deposit Banyak Seperti Bank, E-Cash , PULSA
* Semua Rekening Bank termasuk Bank Daerah Bisa Di Daftarkan
* Bonus Banyak
* Deposit 2 Menit
* Withdraw 5 Menit Paling Lama
* Cs Professional 24 Jam Online
Link Whatsapp = 0831-5739-4921
Link Login = Museumbola
TERIMA KASIH