Can I make an ancestry link/template with APID numbers? [closed]

Question

The PM, Mike, and I have been working on merging and cleaning Cummings-5272. I have moved the notes section to the bottom of the profile because I believe there is useful information, but I am not certain how to proceed. Can the following information be used to make Ancestry image templates that are accessible to everyone, even without a paid subscription? If so, how?

SEX: SOUR  

PAGE Year: 1940; Census Place: Highland, Perkins, Nebraska; Roll: T627_2260; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 68-4

_APID 1,2442::61689967<br>

SEX: SOUR  

PAGE Year: 1930; Census Place: Highland, Perkins, Nebraska; Roll: 1289; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0004; FHL microfilm: 2341024

_APID 1,6224::107579338<br>

Thanks,

Rae

Comments

No, those numbers are not useful. However, the information you moved to the bottom is not all gobbledy-gook. You have:

• Source: S2 1940 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627

Notes

SEX: SOUR PAGE Year: 1940; Census Place: Highland, Perkins, Nebraska; Roll: T627_2260; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 68-4 _APID 1,2442::61689967

A better way to present this information is to delete the red words. The blue is Ancestry specific information, meaning Ancestry is where you saw the information. What is printed in black would enable anyone to find the correct census record wherever they look. A better way is to put the original source first, like this:

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627; database and digital images, "1940 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012 (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 October 2020); citing Year: 1940; Census Place: Highland, Perkins, Nebraska; Roll: T627_2260; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 68-4 .

The green words I had to type, the rest was copy/paste. In this example, the original information is first, second is the the name of the Ancestry database and their publication info. The last part is the citation info which tells you which census page.

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Thanks, Lucy. I keep seeing these APID numbers and I'm was just deleting them. I had approached other profiles similarly to what you posted. I have also simply deleted them.  I'll make the changes.

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Rae, I disagree that the APID numbers are useless. They can be used to make an Ancestry link template. Although not a free link to an image, it is very useful for anyone who has an Ancestry account. Please do not delete them! 

_APID 1,2442::61689967 

can be transformed to 

{{Ancestry Record|2442|61689967}}

You could tack it on at the end of the citation. I usually also like to include the name it was indexed under, such as {{Ancestry Record|2442|61689967}} for Mary B Dalser, if you have that information.

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Joyce, that was what I thought I had read somewhere, but when I tried to use the Ancestry record template, it always threw an error, and I tried different APID numbers. I decided to remove the section because all of the references were duplicates of what I was able to find on FamilySearch. When I don't find a duplicate there, I'll keep the Ancestry information so it can be accessed whether through a personal subscription or at a library.

Thanks,

Rae

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Wow, I've never had it fail, including the example you gave. If an Ancestry link is already there, my preference is to keep it, even if I also find it on FamilySearch. I usually just tack on a note something like "See also: {{Ancestry Record...}}" at the end of the FamilySearch citation. It's a frustration when Ancestry record links are removed from profiles I manage, and I always add them back in.

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It was user error - I have that happen a lot. I see how you took the numbers and put them into the template. The 1 followed by the comma tripped me up. I will make sure to keep the links from now on, and I'll figure out how to type the template correctly! I have to say it is a frustration when information and links you expect to be there are gone.

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LOL no problem, happy to help!

Answer 1

If I read the sources in this profile correctly, there are both FamilySearch and Ancestry citations for the same sources. The source only needs to be cited once. I would just delete the Ancestry citation.