1850 U.S. census - "sheet" or "page" number

By allenawilson on Tue, 08/20/2024 - 08:13

Forums

I'm working on 1850 U.S. census citations.  Below is a link for the example I am using, and my citation.

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10032125:8054

Van Buren County, Arkansas, population schedule, Craig Township, sheet 318B (stamped), dwelling 303, family 303, James Stroud household; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054 : accessed 19 Aug 2024).

If I understand correctly, the "stamped" numbers indicate the number of the "sheet," with both left and right pages visible.  The stamped number is on the right hand page, and is always the "B," while the left side is the "A" side.  I prefer using the stamped number in my citations as it is almost always more readable than the penned numbers.  

Question one - Since this is a "sheet number" rather than a "page number," should I identify it as such in my citation?  Or is using the word "page" acceptable?

Question two - I view census images on Ancestry most of the time.  I would venture a guess that 90% of their page numbers are incorrect.  But it might not be their fault.  Notice their information copied below from Ancestry's source tab.  Does NARA misidentity the number?  And if I use the correct number, have I put a stumbling block in front of future researchers?

Source Citation

The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Craig, Van Buren, Arkansas; Roll: 31; Page: 318a

Any and all comments or suggestions are welcome.

 

 

 

 

Submitted byEEon Tue, 08/20/2024 - 09:15

Hello, allenawilson:

In case you have not discovered it, this issue is covered at length in EE4 at §7.7 “Citing Page, Folio, or Sheet Numbers,” pages 233–35. To abbreviate considerably, for U.S. censuses, the practice was this:

1790–1870: We see both folio numbers (usually stamped) and page numbers (usually penned). Folio numbers appear on just one side of a sheet. When citing folio numbers, we cite them as either recto or verso (or front or back).  Page numbers appear on every side. Sometimes multiple numbering schemes are penned on a page in addition to the stamped numbers. If so, then we say which set of penned numbers we are using (example: penned, upper right).

1880—: Sheet numbers plus letters began to be used, corresponding to enumeration districts. EE4 §7.7’s section “Folio/Sheet numbers (A, B, C, D)” explains this.

The 1850 census that you cite has no letters attached to the numbers. We would not create letters.  We use what’s actually there.

Submitted byallenawilsonon Tue, 08/20/2024 - 09:43

Thanks for such a quick reply.

Yes, I have read and re-read those pages.  You're explanation is very helpful, but....I'm still confused.  If the folio is open to number 318, the stamped number is on the page on the right, correct?  Then if we are using recto or verso, the page with the stamped number is 318 (front).  But the page on left is 317 (back).  Is this correct?  If so, I'm going with penned page numbers!!

 

I worded the prior message incorrectly.  I said "the page on the left is 317 (back)."   I meant to say the image prior to the image showing 318 (stamped).  

So, let me start over, having looked at the beginning of a series of images on Ancestry.

The very first image has the number 1 stamped in the upper right corner.  This would be 1 (recto) or 1 (front). The next image in sequence is the back of that first page, or 1 (verso) or 1 (back).

Have I finally got it?!!

 

allenawilson, I'm a bit puzzled by the statement "folio is open to number 318."  Do you mean, if the folio number 318 appears on the right side of the page? If so, then yes, recto (front) is the page with the stamped number, while verso (back) is the unnumbered backside of that leaf numbered 318.

At other times, the number may be stamped on the left side and the right side has no number. In that case, we'd use no. 318 (left) or 318 (right).

Bottom line: the research world is full of quirks and inconsistencies. And so, amid all our eagerness to get to the good stuff on the page, we have to slow down and study the situation.

Submitted byallenawilsonon Tue, 08/20/2024 - 09:56

I would like to add that my confusion may lie with the way the images are displayed on Ancestry.  I'm thinking of the census being in book form.  But that might not be true.

Allen, yes, the U.S. federal decennial censuses that have been imaged were usually in book form when they were imaged. The process was usually this:

  • They started out as loose sheets submitted by each census deputy marshal (who numbered the pages he created).
  • Those were submitted to the district marshal (who gathered together those for the various deputies of his district and often added a new set of numbers to cover his whole district).
  • Then each district marshal's "set"  went to the Bureau of the Census who then assembled them by state or region, added their stamped numbers to cover each "set" they created, then bound that set. 

However, MANY other censuses (and many U.S. federal censuses other than the decennial returns) are still in loose form.

Submitted byallenawilsonon Tue, 08/20/2024 - 11:34

EE4 at §7.21 “1850 U.S. Census, Population Schedules” pages 246–47

The First Reference Note example includes "page 290 (stamped)."

Should this not be "folio 290 (front)?"  The page is 579 (penned).

Allen, in common parlance, the term everyone uses for censuses is "page."  If we're using a census that specifically states both "folio ___" and "page ____," then we use the appropriate term for the number set that we choose to cite.

As users of old records, we need to understand all sorts of "technical differences" that affected how records are created, numbered, organized, etc. However, common usage does not always express the nuances between one thing and another.