On the right side of this screenshot you can see the stats on the 1881 Canadian Census, Part B. So far, 53,664 images are complete, 10 images are awaiting indexing and 6 images are awaiting arbitration. (I am pretty sure that means that the 10 images that need to be indexed will be added to the final arbitration list once they are indexed.)
This has been a fun challenge for me to help with. I have been researching my Québec ancestors for about 4ish years now. It was so painfully slow at first. I don’t speak French. But now I can zip right through things that felt impossible four years ago. I’m still not a French speaker by any means, but I do know how to read most French Genealogy records for Québec. Helping with the 1881 Canadian Census – which is in French – has really helped boost my understanding of the language and of names that I don’t have in my tree but sometimes see as witnesses to events for my family.
When I started, my accuracy percentage was not great. I didn’t understand the diacritics well at all. I’m still no expert, but I have memorized the keyboard shortcuts to help me type them and can recognize them in sloppy handwriting quite accurately now.
I was able to index 2,075 1881 Canadian Census records!
Now that the project is nearly complete, and there are no batches available to download, I have moved on to the 1856 France, Saône-et-Loire Census. It is stretching me even more. I love it!
My accuracy has gone way up. There are occasional batches that are so hard to read and I get a surname wrong for a large family and my accuracy goes way down, but overall I’m doing pretty well at 97%.
So far this year I have indexed 2,660 of my 6,000 record goal. I’m a bit behind the pace I was hoping for but making progress.
Have you tried indexing? If not, I promise there are plenty of English projects that need help. Even a bunch of beginner projects. FamilySearch is one of the many organizations you can index for. They happen to be my preferred place to index because they provide their records freely to all. If you have never indexed, check out the resources for indexers on FamilySearch. The indexing page currently looks like this.
I promise it is beginner friendly.
This infographic is a great summary of why indexing is so vital to genealogy.
Have you indexed? If so, who do you like to index for?
Do you have 30 minutes to spare? If so, help “Fuel the Find” today by indexing one batch of records!
Well done!! I’m particularly impressed that you took on records in French 🙂
Thank you Su!!
Great work!! I have thought of indexing – just need to find the time *sigh*…BTW, if you need help with French, just let me know – I’m functionally bilingual and always willing to take a look at something that needs translating 🙂 fhtess65@gmail.com
Thank you Teresa! I appreciate the offer, I will remember that. 😉
I’ve done about 4,000+ but none this year and not many since I started blogging. I wasn’t even sure of my password when I went in to check today – that’s how long I haven’t logged in. Thanks for the reminder. Congrats on your indexing.
Thank you Cathy! 4,000 is a great contribution. Excellent work. 🙂
I know I need to set aside some time to do more.
Thanks for your good work. I did some indexing, but not recently. I just ran out of time. Lame excuse—I should find the time.
It’s not a lame excuse. It does take time. I think it’s nice though to get a gentle reminded on occasion to contribute to the pool of indexed records we all rely on. 🙂
Yep, you’re right. Guilt can be a great motivator.
Thanks so much for spending your time doing this.
You are welcome Jen! Did you get my FB message?