Indexing Progress Update

Well, even though I spent almost the entire day filing taxes and freaking out about how much we had to pay now that I'm self-employed, I managed to relax and get in some indexing. (You would think that because I am an accountant, I would have had a better idea how much taxes we owed, but I never feel like dealing with my own taxes until I have to). Since the release of the 1940 census on April 2, I've managed to index 1,280 names. My goal is to do 2,400 by the end of the month. My accuracy rate is 99%. I've heard of quite a few others having arbitrators who incorrectly arbitrate their answers, but I've only had a problem with one arbitrator blatantly putting the wrong answer, so for the most part, I think 99% is fair. I learned a neat little trick from the RootsMagic webinars hosted by DearMyrtle: to adjust your highlights and index vertically. It sure does make the process go faster.

I initially was just indexing from the highest priority states, but when Louisiana became available the second or third day, I decided to start indexing there as well. I grew up in Louisiana, and there sure are some unique names here, particularly in South Louisiana. I have seen them indexed horribly at Ancestry.com in the past, so I wanted to make sure I got to index some of those batches. It helps when you are familiar with the names. I just hope the arbitrators are from here too, or they may end up incorrectly arbitrating my answers. When Michigan became available on Friday, I started to index there as well, since my mom is from there. However, I've recently decided that I want to index at least one batch from each state, so I've been working on that goal for the past two days. Here is what I have so far:

Lewes, Sussex, Delaware - 1 page
3rd Rep. District, Kent, Delaware - 1 page

Denver, Denver, Colorado (Playmore Hotel) - 1 page
Durango, LaPlata, Colorado - 1 page

Gretna, Jefferson, Louisiana - 1 page
Ward 10, West Feliciana, Louisiana - 2 pages
Dodson, Winn, Louisiana - 1 page
Ansley, Jackson, Louisiana - 1 page
Westwego, Jefferson, Louisiana - 1 page
Kenner, Jefferson, Louisiana - 1 page
Hathaway, Jeff Davis, Louisiana - 2 pages
Jonesboro, Jackson, Louisiana - 1 page
Police Jury Ward 1 (outside Eros village), Jackson, Louisiana - 1 page
Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana - 2 pages

Hays, Ellis, Kansas - 1 page
Almena, Norton, Kansas - 1 page
Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas - 1 page

Portland, Multnomah, Oregon - 1 page

Charles City, Virginia - 1 page
Reed Creek, Henry, Virginia - 1 page
Glade Spring District, Washington, Virginia - 1 page
Charlottesville, Albemarle, Virginia - 1 page
Richmond, Henrico, Virginia - 1 page

Otsego, Allegan, Michigan - 1 page

Roosevelt, Duchesne, Utah - 1 page

Hudson Center, Hillsborough, New Hampshire - 1 page

Greentown, Howard, Indiana - 1 page

Rexburg, Madison, Idaho - 1 page

Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona - 1 page

Once I get at least one page from each state, I plan to go back to the highest priority and Louisiana and Michigan.

Here is a link to the map I've been using to track my progress at Google Maps:




View My 1940 Census Indexing Progress in a larger map