Mistakes and statistics

[Pauline]

How should you check your entries against the census? Click the grey arrow then compare what you see on your My Ancestors page against the Search results. (Both show year of birth - neither shows age.)

If I am entering a new household from the 1881 census, then I generally do this using Ancestry. I bring up the transcript, enter the reference and then the head of the household. Next I click the grey arrow to check the reference, and then I add the rest of the household. Before I finish I do a quick visual check of what I have entered against the transcription.

And therein lies the problem - although the head of the household is shown in the transcription with both a year and an age, the rest are shown with just an age. So I have then have to calculate the approximate year to see if I've entered the ages correctly.

Does that help explain things?

 

[Helen7]

If I am entering a new household from the 1881 census, then I generally do this using Ancestry. I bring up the transcript, enter the reference and then the head of the household. Next I click the grey arrow to check the reference, and then I add the rest of the household. Before I finish I do a quick visual check of what I have entered against the transcription.

And therein lies the problem - although the head of the household is shown in the transcription with both a year and an age, the rest are shown with just an age. So I have then have to calculate the approximate year to see if I've entered the ages correctly.

Does that help explain things?

I do the same as you, Pauline, and agree with your comments about year/age shown on the Ancestry transcription. However, the following earlier comment in this discussion worries me a little:

When I add an entry at LC from Ancestry and then notice that the grey arrow check reveals a different value from FMP, I usually alter my submission to match that shown by FMP on the assumption that other members will probably do likewise, or have used FMP originally.

On checking my entries for the 1881 census, I have occasionally spotted a discrepancy in the transcribed surname at FMP compared to Ancestry. In such cases, I haven't changed it but kept the Ancestry version - but perhaps I shouldn't have done? Of course, I can't remember which particular entries this applies to and I don't fancy going back and checking them all again! I'd appreciate some advice on this one.

 

[peter]

On checking my entries for the 1881 census, I have occasionally spotted a discrepancy in the transcribed surname at FMP compared to Ancestry. In such cases, I haven't changed it but kept the Ancestry version - but perhaps I shouldn't have done? Of course, I can't remember which particular entries this applies to and I don't fancy going back and checking them all again! I'd appreciate some advice on this one.

The Ancestry version is the original LDS transcription, so that's the one to use. But there are very few differences in the Findmypast version, and in almost every case the match wouldn't be missed even if your cousin used the FMP version.