USGenWeb Free Census Project Help, 1880 Census Help

Remember, please sign up with a State Census Coordinator before beginning a transcription.

The following following are available to our volunteer transcribers so that our file managers can convert them to the standardized text output to meet the goals of the project.

CENTRANS (MAC & PC) Centrans Instructions and Help

We have the following templates available for download:

Free Schdules: MSExCel Spreadsheet | MSWorks Spreadsheet | Tab Text Templates

Mortality Schdules: MSExCel Spreadsheet | MSWorks Spreadsheet | Tab Text Templates

[Note: These are zipped and are also available by request from Maggie Stewart. Please use "templates" as the subject of your email and include what year and type of template that you need.]

Header Information That's Needed:

Part A

Part B

Part C

Part D

• Census Year 1880
• Microfilm # (NARA Microfilm Series T9.) T9-1016
• State Ohio (Click on Part D above)
• County Franklin (Click on Part C above)
• Subdistrict/Township (Click on Part B above)
• City/Town 1st Precinct 1st Ward of Columbus (Click on Part B & C above)
• Supervisor's District 5 (Click on Part A above)
• Enumeration District 20 (Click on Part A above)
• Enumerator Hercules Campbell (Click on Part D above)
• Enumeration Date 8th day of June, 1880 (Click on Part C above)
• Transcriber - Your name here Maggie Stewart
• Proofreader - If proofread, put their name here. If you don't have one, put Not Proofread.
• Remarks (This is for something that refers to the entire page)

Columns present in the census: [Columns highlighted in red are additional columns that we require to be filled out unless otherwise noted.]

1. Sheet # (See Explaination below)
   • In 1880 census schedules you will find (at least) three different independent ordering systems. First, there are the page numbers, handwritten in the upper left of each page, beginning at 1 for each Enumeration District. Page numbers in 1880 do not have an A or B designation. Second, there are the sheet numbers, stamped in the upper right of each right hand page, beginning at 1 for each bound volume, going up one number for every two pages (1 sheet). Note that each volume begins with a right hand page, or 1B, there being no 1A. Also note that when you see the stamped sheet number it is ALWAYS on the B half of the sheet, the right hand page. This means that the other half, the A half, is the page filmed BEFORE the B half. In other words when you see sheet number 242 the page you are looking at is sheet 242B, the page before it is sheet 242A, the page after is sheet 243A. If you visualise the actual book the film was made from this concept is much easier to understand. In 1880 a third ordering system was used, one which terribly confuses our transcribers. Printed on each schedule page is a large letter, either A, B, C, or D. These letters are NOT in any way connected with either page or sheet numbers. Please DO NOT confuse these letters with the A or B of the sheet numbers (which are not marked on the schedules). To make matters worse, the ABCD ABCD etc. letters begin on the right hand pages, so A and C usually show up on the B halves of sheets, B and D on the A halves. We record the page numbers in the page number field of our transcription software, the sheet number in the reference or sheet number field, and the page letter in reference or remarks.
2. Page # 20 (Click on Part A above)
3. Line # (These run 1-100 with 1-50 on the first page and 51-100 on the second page then repeats in two page cycles.)
4. Name of Street (Fill in every line even if the enumerator didn't) Note this is usually written sideways up the sheet.
5. House Number (Fill in every line even if the enumerator didn't)
6. Dwelling (1) Houses numbered in order of visitation (Fill in every line even if the enumerator didn't)
7. Families (2) numbered in order of visitation (Fill in every line even if the enumerator didn't)
8. Last Name (3) (Do not put all in capitals)
9. First Name (3)
10. Color (4) White, W, Black B, Mulatto, Me, Chinese, C
11. Sex (5) Male M, Female F
12. Age (6) at last birthday prior to June 1, 1880. If under 1 year, give months in fractions, thus: 3/12
13. If born (7) within the Census year, give the month.
14. Relationship (8) of each person to the head of this family - whether wife, son, daughter, servant, boarder, or other.
15. Single (9), / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
16. Married (10), / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
17. Widowed (11), / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark) Divorced, D
18. Married (12) during Census Year, / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
19. Profession (13), Occupation or Trade of each person, male or female
20. Number (14) of months this person has been unemployed during the Census year.
21. Is (15) the person (on the day of the Enumerator's visit) sick or temporarily disabled such as to be unable to attend to ordinary business or duties? If so, what is the sickness or disability?
22. Blind (16) / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
23. Deaf and Dumb (17) / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
24. Idiotic (18) / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
25. Insane (19) / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
26. Maimed, (20) Crippled, Bedridden or otherwise disabled / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
27. Attended school (21) within this Census year / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
28. Cannot read (22) / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
29. Cannot write (23) / (Note please use an "X" instead of a hash mark)
30. Place of Birth (24) of this person naming State or Territory of United States or Country, if of foreign birth.
31. Place of Birth (25) of the Father of this person naming State or Territory of United States or Country, if of foreign birth.
32. Place of Birth (26) of Mother of this person naming State or Territory of United States or Country, if of foreign birth.
33. Transcriber's Remarks (Fill this out only if some additional comment is needed.)

Special Notes/Comments:

1. Example of online completed 1880 census transcription. (This output was done using the CenTrans software.)

2. States with surviving 1880 census schedules:

   Alabama Arizona Territory Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Dakota Territory Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Idaho Territory Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi

   Missouri Montana Territory Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Territory New York North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Territory Vermont Virginia Washington Territory West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Territory

 

When transcribing the census, MAKE A BACKUP COPY!