Understanding Errors Made During Microfilming

 Bedford County Tennessee deed books O-R were microfilmed by the Tennessee State Library and  Archives and are digitally available via FamilySearch in Image Group Number 008150799.  I'm so thankful to have these records and others like them available to access from home.  

The IGN 8150799 images might be confusing to some because of errors in the target images.  Target images are documents added that give additional information about the item being microfilmed. Some examples are: End of roll, End of item, Tight Binding, Smeared Ink, etc.  Volume O contains deeds for 1821-1822 and has an index for those deeds at the front of the book.  While the dates covered are correct the book is more than an index.

Volumes P, Q, and R are also listed incorrectly as Index Books on the target images but now we have an additional error.  The person who created the handwritten target pages wrote 19 instead of 18 for the first two numbers of the year. 

 

Volume P

Volume Q

Volume R

Thankfully, FamilySearch has it listed correctly on their site. It is essential that you know what records you are using. A citation is more than just a road map back to the source, it requires understanding the why and when of the record creation as well as recognizing any errors made in the transferring of that record to a different format. This is just one example of errors you might encounter while researching.

Notes:  

Bedford Co TN Deed Books(w/ front index) IGN 008150799

Volume O   Images 6-227
Volume P    Images 229-457
Volume Q   Images 459-659
Volume R   Images 661-931

An example of why we must ALWAYS check the image.

Digging thru Riddles in the Warren Co TN area I was reminded of why you should always click thru to the image for further examination.

Reading the index would make you think this household is made up of 2 Males.  That really doesn't make sense given that the head of household is female.  Even if she were a person of color she would be listed in Total All column.

I pasted the column headers in just above the snippet of Mary's entry so you could see how many in each age group and gender were enumerated. (Click image to enlarge)

The index did not include the 3 white females in the household.  

1 ------- 30-under 40

1 ------- 50-under 60

1 ------- 70-under 80

I left a comment on this entry to make others aware of the omission.  

When you think about how many people this information has passed thru it's amazing that we still have any of it.

This particular entry was from the Ancestry Database of the 1830 United States Federal Census.  That database was made using images digitized by FamilySearch of the census pages which were microfilmed by the NARA.  I do not know who indexed the census. Those pages of census data were collected by the census taker from someone in that household(and in some cases probably a neighbor).  From what I understand it was not uncommon for the census taker to collect the data and then write it on the census form later in his best...or sometimes worst handwriting.  I checked to see if the 1830 census pages still exist but from what I can gather the NARA only has the negative photostatic copies for the year 1830. [1]

Ancestry Database:
Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.1830; Image 141 of 158.

Family History Library Film:
Census Place: Warren, Tennessee; Series: M19; Roll: 181; Page: 367; Family History Library Film: 0024539

Original data: 

Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.