Wisconsin - 1850 US Federal Census_General

Account for Every Line on the Record:

• Each General Census image has 42 possible record entries. The enumerator may not have recorded information on all 42 lines, but each line of the image must be accounted for. Therefore, if there is no data to index on a line, the record must be marked as blank. To do this:

• On the tool bar, click Edit.
• Select Mark Field/Record.
• Select Mark Record Blank.

• Press Ctrl+Shift+B.

Click on the link below if more help is needed with adding and deleting lines.

• Adding and Deleting Lines.

How to use the Ruler:

• You may choose to use the ruler to follow the record across the page. If so, please be aware that the ruler is not anchored to the indexing screen and does not automatically move as you move to a new entry. To see the ruler, follow these steps:

1. On the tool bar, click View
2. Select Show Ruler
   

How to Index Names:

• Given Name: The given name is usually written first.
• Surname: The Surname is usually written only once for the first member of the family. However, it needs to be repeated for each family member.

How to Index Places:

• When a place has been misspelled, spell it correctly.
  
• When a place has been abbreviated and you can determine what the abbreviation stands for, type the complete name instead of the abbreviation.
  
• Use the lookup list for assistance. The lookup list does not include every possibility. If you are not sure what the locality should be, type the name of the place that was written on the record.

Corrected or Crossed-Out Information: 

• When information is crossed out and then replaced, type the new data into the appropriate fields.
• When the information is crossed out, not replaced, and can be read, type the crossed-out information.
• When the information is crossed out, not replaced, and cannot be read, mark the field unreadable by pressing Ctrl+U.
• When every entry on a record cannot be read, mark the entire record unreadable by pressing Ctrl+Shift+U.

Unknown:

• If a required field (a field marked with an asterisk) contains a descriptive word, such as unknown or don’t know, press Ctrl+B to mark the field as blank.
• If a field that is not required contains a descriptive word, such as unknown or don’t know, press Tab to skip this field.  

Unnecessary Punctuation:

• Do not type periods, commas, parentheses or semicolons after initials, abbreviations, or between multiple levels of localities for any of the fields.

Ditto Marks:

• Ditto marks or similar signs of repetition may be found in several fields. If a field contains any of these signs, type the actual information from the above field.

Lookup Lists:

• A lookup list is a collection of common names, places, races, etc, to help decipher a specific field. All fields that have a corresponding lookup list will have a down arrow at the right side of the column.
• Click the Down Arrow.
• Select Lookup for the appropriate list for that field to appear.
• The lookup lists are not comprehensive. If the clerk wrote something that is not in the list, type what was written on the certificate.

Red Wavy Line:

• The red wavy line does not mean that you made a mistake. It appears because the word you typed is not in the lookup list. This is okay.