Talk:World Archives Project: Oregon, Biographical and Other Index Card File

Feel free to add to or edit information in this discussion tab as necessary.  Please take time to become familiar with the General Keying Standards and be sure to read all instructions on the main project page.  (Please note that in case of a discrepancy, project level instructions always trump general keying standards.)

Common Keying Errors Found by Reviewers

Do not key 'other date' if a birth, death or marriage date is shown. The examples shown on the wiki page are incorrect.

Other Day

Key the day from the other date as seen on the record. Other date is the date on an index card other than the ones specifically defined such as birth or location :date. The wiki image samples will help in determining which date to key. If there is a birth, marriage or death date on the image, do not enter a date into this :field. If there are multiple "other" dates on a card, key the first one to appear.

Do not key the word county or co

Do not key ranks in the prefix field

Key places as seen, do not expand

Separate multiple occupations with a comma.

Separate multiple ethnicities with a comma.

Only key one surname. If prior marriage name, show with given name.

- Key only 1st line

- Do not assume maiden name

Questions and Answers

If you have a keying question that is not answered on the project page or in any of the information above, click 'EDIT' and ask it here. (If you click on Rich Editor you won't have to worry about formatting your entry.) Then click 'WATCH' at the top right on this page and you will be notified via email when an update has been made.

Q: In this project, do we key business and company names (such as "Lane & Taylor"), and if we DO key them, do we put both in the Given Name field as in most other projects (and change the "&" to "and")?
If a company is shown as "Jerry N. Lane & Co." would this be keyed as Given=Jerry N; Surname=Lane
or
Given=Jerry N Lane and Co ; Surname=<empty>?
--Collier Smith 22:04, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

Q: Are we to assume 58 is 1858 and not 1958?

A: As far as I know (and please correct me if I am wrong) we are to key all year fields as seen. So if it shows 58 it should not be keyed as 1858 or 1958, just 58. --Wiedwoman 04:56, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: I have a person with two names: Pettinger, Mrs. George Howard (Elizabeth Evans). How do I enter that? Do I make George the spouse and Elizabeth Evans as the principal person?

A: Yes, I would do it that way. --Collier Smith 04:20, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: I have seen several images that are NOT PRE-PRINTED FORMS but are typed in the very same format and contain the very same data as the Pioneer Cards. The instructions imply that only pre-printed forms should be keyed as Pioneer. However, I believe that these typed yet identical cards should be classified and keyed with the Pioneer cards. Am I correct? --Collier Smith 18:33, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

A: Yes Anna said to key cards that are not pre-printed but have the same format as the Pioneer cards. --Wiedwoman 19:15, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: The example http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:ORBiographicalCards_BiographyIndex_Key_7.JPG seems to indicate that we should key the additional names in the large box, labelled "Name". However, the instructions only mention keying "Primary Persons". Which is correct?

A: It's confusing. Anna says we are to key images like that sample, when there are no dates. See Anna's reply on discussion board 1/31 3:04 http://boards.ancestry.com/wap.usrecordsother/1358/mb.ashx --Wiedwoman 06:54, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: the keying help says "if there are multiple dates on a card, key the first one to appear". Does this mean the first one on the page (reading from the top down, I presume)? Or the first one I happen to spot? Or the earliest date in time? --Collier Smith 21:43, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

A: If you'll look at the keying examples it highlights the first date that shows on the index card reading top to bottom. --Wiedwoman 22:05, 1 February 2014 (UTC) Thanks--Collier Smith 05:36, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: What if a Pioneer Index lists more than one spouse? Do we put the next spouse on the line below or just use one, which one?

A: Per Anna, Key the most recent spouse.--Wiedwoman 06:28, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

A2: That said, please don't associate the marriage dates with the wrong spouse. --Paulmd199 17:46, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Q: Do we label it as Biography or Cover page , etc; when the subject of the image is courts and not an actual person?

A: Show as a cover page when there is no person as the subject. --Wiedwoman 09:15, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: On a Pioneer index the female subject has name shown as {EX. Bringham, Tabitha Jane Cooper } Under Given do we key in Tabitha Jane Cooper or Key in Tabitha Jane under Given and under Surname key in Cooper Bringham?

A: I would key as given: Tabitha Jane Cooper and surname as Bringham as we don't know for certain that Cooper is maiden name. --Wiedwoman 17:43, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: If on the card it doesn't say "ARRIVED," do we key in the information where it says "LOCATED" or "CAME TO OREGON" or leave it blank?

A: I would think you would key the "LOCATED" or "CAME TO OREGON" date. --Wiedwoman 21:19, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: On the Biography index stamped VITAL STATISTICS at the bottom it says D ORE and then a date.. where does that get keyed in? I am a bit confused on this.

A: I am wondering if this is NOT Died in Ore(gon) but rather an abbreviation for a newspaper name published in Oregon. Such as "Daily Oregonian". Can anyone contact the source of this film and ask the question.

A: On further consideration, I agree with this and retract my earlier response. --Collier Smith 06:15, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

A: This abbreviation appears on lots of cards. I've recently seen such a date a couple of days after a Marriage so it appears to be a newspaper publication date and therefore should appear in the "Other" fields.

Q: In the sample [1]; What do we categorize this as?

A: It would be a biography index card. --Wiedwoman 07:20, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: In the list of common errors, one is typing county or co. And yet the instructions for location field say type exactly as you see it. So, if the name is xxx County, NY, am I supposed to leave out the word county?

A: Yes leave out the word county or co. I don't know why the instructions don't specifically state to omit them. But it does in the keying guidelines. --Wiedwoman 00:32, 27 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: How do we key a date that like this sample? " abt. 1865"

A: In general, I think we key indefinite dates such as "abt. 1865", "ca. 1865", "bef. 1865", "aft. 1865" as 1865. A range of dates such as "1865-1888" also would be keyed as the earliest (1865), unless the range can be interpreted as the lifetime (or birth and death dates) of the person. In the latter case, key each date in the appropriate field. --Collier Smith 18:46, 27 February 2014 (UTC)

Q: On a biographical card for license to marry, do we key in the secondary person as spouse or leave blank as it is only license date and not married date?

A: I would lean toward keying it as Other Date and ignore the secondary person, on the grounds that doing otherwise involves assumptions (generally forbidden) about whether the wedding actually took place, and when.--Collier Smith 06:45, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

Q: I have a Biographical Card that lists the "Primary Person" as "McCall vs. McDowell."  This card represents an editorial written in a newspaper regarding a judge's decision in a case, and a date for the editorial's publication is listed as May 1, 1867.  As a result, which name do I list as the Principle person with the editorial's date, and/or do I simply list both names and ignore the date?

A: I would list the first name you see as "Primary Person" and the date as "Other". Ignore the second name. --Collier Smith 06:15, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

Q:  On a Biographical Card, the "Primary Person" is listed as "Hoffman, ________" and refers to a birth; however, the mother gave birth to "twin daus."  Should I only key this in once (as one person: [Blank] Hoffman) or add a second line for the twin, and/or is there a good place or way to key in the fact that this record refers to a set of twins?

A: Keeping in mind that we are creating an INDEX to a collection of cards, not a summary of the contents, and also that there is no real keyable information here beyond the surname, your first idea is the best: just key [Blank] Hoffman. --Collier Smith 03:27, 28 March 2014 (UTC)

Q: I know I've seen the answers somewhere, but I can't find them now. I have two questions, really. 1: How do I copy the image I want to discuss?

A: You should download and learn an image clipper or grabber program (such as PicPick). They make the process much simpler. Then use that program to create a JPG or PNG file from your image, and save it (say, to your desktop). You can then upload that file to the forum or whatever. HTH --Collier Smith 06:35, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

Q2: My image has two lines. First line: "Jacobs, Mrs. Orange." Second line: "Jacobs, Mrs. Lucinda Davenport." I think I saw somewhere to only key the first line, but I'm not sure. I want to key this as: "Jacobs, Lucinda Davenport, Mrs." and spouse as: "Orange Jacobs." Help.

A: Your way is correct -- key it all on one line (with "Mrs" as a Prefix, not Suffix as it might appear in your example). --Collier Smith 06:35, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

A: Collier am I misunderstanding your answer? if the card has two lines of names on it, we are to key the top line. So in this instance above it would be keyed as Mrs. Orange Jacobs. --Wiedwoman 06:47, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

A: My answer was based on the fact that both lines pertain to the same individual (the wife), and both could be keyed on the same record/line, thus capturing all the information on the card AND not requiring two keyed lines. I think the rule about keying one line (the top line) was to make clear that we don't create/key a second record/line for any card. If I am wrong, I am happy to retract. --Collier Smith 23:44, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

A: In this example, you would only key the name from the first line. The name on the second line is still referencing the same individual. Annafechter 05:55, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

A: I defer to Anna's authority (and retract my answer), but would like to point out that her rule will lose Lucinda Davenport, and unless that name is found on the first line of some other card, it will never be indexed at all (a significant omission). --Collier Smith 21:50, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

Q: I have an image that is a newspaper clipping with all the information about the primary person. Is it biography, pioneer or cover page? Thank you. Virginia Welker.

A: I think this would be Biography because it has bio info, but is not in Pioneer format. --Collier Smith 21:37, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Q: How do I post an uploaded photo? I have uploaded it, but I don't know how to get it into the comments. Thank you. Virginia Welker.

A: I am not sure if I understand your question. First, where are these "comments" you refer to? This page is called "Discussion or Questions and Answers", not "comments". If you are referring to this page, I think only administrators can add embedded images, unless you have placed your image somewhere on the Web and can use the External Link to reference it. If by "comments" you are referring to some other page, you should ask the question there. --Collier Smith 21:54, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Q: I'm sorry...incorrect use of terms. I did mean this page of Questions and Answers. I want to show an image that I have a question about and I have uploaded it to 'My contributions.' How do I reference it here on this page in order to show what I'm talking about? Thank you. Virginia Welker.

A: I uploaded a small file to the "my contributions" area and I am trying to reference it here: .

If successful, when I save this page it should appear, and then I can use it to describe the process. Yay, it worked (after several abortive attempts, I might add)! So, the process is 1. create an image file (jpg, png, etc.) and save it on your hard drive where you can find it easily. 2. Upload it to your "my contributions" area. 3. Go to the Discussions page and open the Edit box and write your question. When you get to the place where you want to insert the image, click the "Embedded file" icon just to the right of the big A in the Edit-Bar (see my embedded file) and insert the filename (just the name, not the path!). 4. Finish asking your question and click "Save page" at the bottom of the Edit box (or if you are doubtful, click "show preview" to see if it worked correctly first). Hope this is clear. --Collier Smith 19:15, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

QUESTION: Do I key the name of the person in these images, or are they "Cover page, Sections header, etc?" File:J MERIDITH.png 'Ž

A: I would classify these both as Biography cards, and key the people with the death year. Ignore the names of the ships. --Collier Smith 05:22, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

Suggestions/Additions

  If you have a suggestion or would like to make an addition to the project page, click 'EDIT' and post your suggestion here. (If you click on Rich Editor you won't have to worry about formatting your entry.) Then click 'WATCH' at the top right on this page and you will be notified via email when an update has been made.

I suggest that a basic rule be added:

Each image will have only one principal person keyed, and only one spouse -- the most recent. All other names on that image are to be ignored.

There is only one exception to this rule: If an image consists only of a list of names, with no other data, then key all the names as principal persons, one per line.

I think this would clarify a lot of issues on both the message board and the wiki.

Sounds very simple when you put it that way :) --Wiedwoman 19:59, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

Suggestion: I would like to suggest one exception to the "key most recent spouse rule"

Example: Jones, Mrs. Mary Ann Smith Spouses shown: (1) James J Jones (2) Hiram B Jefferson

--In this case, it's pretty obvious they are trying to capture information on the first spouse rather than the most recent. --Lucasdle503 22:17, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

I would think this wouldn't happen very often :) --Wiedwoman 22:55, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

I wouldn't think so, either, but I've seen a few of them on this project  :)   --Lucasdle503 04:46, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

My suggestion is: why don't we have all the "discussions", "questions and answers", and "wiki" all in the same place. I am having a very hard time finding information. Going to all these different web pages is time consuming and very confusing. Thank you. Virginia Welker.

A: I have been asking this same question (with no satisfactory or even unsatisfactory answers from those in charge) for many months, nay, years, of working on WAP. The current scheme makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe all of us keyers should just agree among ourselves to stop posting questions on the WAP Message Forums and put them all here on the Wiki discussion page. --Collier Smith 03:27, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

A: I sometimes copy the info from the message boards and insert it into the wiki. It makes it much easier to find and understand.

A: IMHO, this consolidation and redaction of information/hints/instructions/etc. should be a function of the WAP, not of us keyers. That would make the info much more authoritative, too. The current system is too much in the mode of the blind leading the blind, with too much guesswork involved. --Collier Smith 16:29, 26 March 2014 (UTC)