Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Dear Mr. 1830 Census Enumerator:

I see that they did not teach you how to do your sums in Alabama. 1+1+1+1+1+1 under the free whites category is equal to 6 persons. 2+1+2+2 under slaves is equal to 7 persons. 6+7=13 not 18 as you somehow calculated.

You obviously need this wonderful invention that we have invented since you first enumerated the persons in your area to calculate your totals. It is called a spreadsheet program. You can choose from several. There is Microsoft Excel, Corel Quattro Pro, Open Office Calc, Lotus 1-2-3, and even Google Docs. If you put in the correct formula, it is very easy to calculate the totals so that you are not off by 5 persons!

Sincerely yours,

Someone in the 21st century who is using your data

1 comment:

Miriam Robbins said...

Hmmm...it would make more sense if this were the 1820 Census, as males aged 16 - 18 were enumerated TWICE, first in the age 16 - 18 category, and again in the age 16 - 25 category. Oh, well.