1940 Census data

Of all the new Record and Smart Matches we were given, the only ones that are really useful are the 1940 census data. Everything else comes with an unreasonable price tag.

But even there, there seem to be some problems.First of all, sometimes, and I haven't figured out when, the "confirm" and "reject" buttons do not come up, so I can't confirm them. Second, there are census records that don't get found -- my parents for one. If I go onto MyHeritage, I can find the census record for my parents, and verify that they were living in Camden, N. J. in 1940. The same record can be found by using the "research" hyperlink. But neither of these gives me the opportunity to confirm.

Is there any other way of adding a census record to a profile?

If you're not getting confirm/reject buttons on a record even though you have purchased the additional data plan, that means:

a) You haven't purchased the additional data plan; or,

b) You're not a manager on the profile.

It looks like the first might be the case for you?

I can ask a staff member to look at why some records may not be popping up your parents' profiles It's usually due to people not putting identifying information in profiles, but that doesn't seem to be the case here, so I'm sure there's another easy explanation.

You can still add documents manually as before. Click on the "Sources" and "Media" tabs of a profile to do that.

Ashley, no, I have not purchased the additional data plan -- that is what I said about "unreasonable price tag." The point is that sometimes I *do*, and sometimes I do *not*, get the confirm/reject buttons, specifically on 1940 census data which is supposed to be free.

True, but you still won't be able to approve 1940 matches on profiles you don't manage -- that is what I was trying (clumsily) to get across. Management matters first and foremost.

Can you link to a profile you manage where you're still unable to confirm a 1940 match that's showing up? That would help in showing the problem to staff.

I also want to make a point about census matches (just a general one).

My father will likely never "record match" to the 1940 census. His name was misspelled on the census & he was living in his grandmother's household (she was using a name only for that census).

I believe (and I could be wrong) that I can only copy the record across servers. Unless I want to change his name on Geni. :)

Erica Howton, that may be why I cannot find my maternal grandparents on the 1940 census -- I do not kno the cause, but misspelling is a possibility. However in the case of my parents, that's a different story. I can find the census record. The spelling of both my mother's and father's name is correct. And I've added it, now, to my parents' profiles as a "source document," so it may not show up *now* as a record match because it's *already* on both profiles. So I can't use it as an example. Though, I've got such as http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000020732044605 now in "Documents" (twice! the same one is at http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000020732192580 because I added it twice) as opposed to the "confirmed matches" where I've found a name in a Record Match and simply confirmed it.

As a result, the *same* type of census data is being displayed very differently at Irving Ebersman and Walter E. Gilson

Private User, I see. So because my cousin joined himself, and thus manages his own profile, that explains why I can't approve matches.

Correct -- your cousin would have to approve them himself. You can avoid situations like that by using the filters at the top of the Merge Center. For example, if you want to look only for Record Matches on profiles you manage -- in other words, Record Matches you can approve -- you would select these options: http://i.imgur.com/y08hMLi.png

I searched for your parents on MyHeritage and did find their 1940 Census records using the same spelling and information you have on their Geni profiles, so I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from a Geni staff member about what's up. It's the weekend, but hopefully someone has a chance to look into it early next week.

Regarding upload the same document twice: You might find it much easier to simply tag multiple people in one copy of the document. If you look at http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000020732192580, you should see an option on the right-hand side, right above "Walter E. Gilson," that says "Add." If you click that link, you can add the other people who are listed in that document. You can then cite each person's facts in the document separately.

I personally find that approach a lot easier than uploading the same document repeatedly. I have some documents with literally dozens and dozens of people attached to them. I also imagine that me not uploading tons of duplicate image files also helps keep Geni's costs down, so there's that, too. :)

Private User, thanks for the "add" info. One problem is that I have to use trial and error on how to do things, so there can be things I can do but don't know I can or how to do them.

It's true for all of us, Bruce! It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to do some things on Geni, and I know there are plenty of other tips and tricks I still need to learn. No worries. :)

Is there any way to delete the extra copies once they are uploaded?

Yes -- you can go to the "Actions" button at the upper right corner, and then click "Delete Document." I *think* you might need to manually remove any citations first, but I'm not positive -- you'll learn for both of us through trial and error, I guess. :)

I forgot to mention last night -- we have the same ability to add multiple people to an image, and also delete extra images. I learned this the hard way a couple years back after uploading the http://www.geni.com/projects/Lord-Mayors-of-London/6047 project picture separately to every single profile in the project. I could have simply tagged all of the profiles in one picture upload. Whoops!

Private User, just to let you know, I did not need to remove cirations before deleting duplicate documents. And Thanks for all you've said.

Also, besides my parents, I've found other cases of profiles I manage where I could not find the 1940 census data as a Record Match, and when I did find them, I could not confirm the match, so I had to add it as a source. There are Emanuel "Eddie" Novick and Max Novick at least, as well.