Candace

I am a new user and am confused about how to best cite census records accessed on Ancestry. Below is the citation information provided by Ancestry for a particular record. Is this the accepted format now? If so, how are the citation sentences structured? I'm confused about which elements must go in the first citation, versus which only need to be included in the bibliography. Source Citation Year: 1800; Census Place: Thurman, Washington, New York; Series: M32; Roll: 26; Page: 204; Image: 200; Family History Library Film: 193714 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington.

Thank you, Michael! This has been VERY helpful. (And to think I thought the census would an easy citation on which to learn!) Part of my confusion came from looking at the 1997 and 2010 Evidence! citation formats, coupled with the 2007 Evidence Explained format, and comparing these with the citation information Ancestry provided. For example, Mills includes the date the census was accessed, but Ancestry doesn't include it in its citation information. Are the citation data elements provided by Ancestry the new standard? If I exclude the date accessed, will the Proper Citation gods banish me from the kingdom? Perhaps the just-released third edition of Evidence Explained will clarify..... I think I am a "splitter," but the readings you suggested showed me I have a wee bit more to consider before I start structuring sentences and filling in data fields! Thank you for the warm welcome! I'm sure there will be more questions as I wade further into the TMG waters..... Candace