Found this on the RANCLAY net and thought it was concise and explinative so I fowarded it to you with thanks to the author. Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: <Clhjohnson@aol.com> To: <RAN-CLAY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, April 12, 1999 5:31 PM Subject: [RAN-CLAY-L] Family History Centers New Online Site > Series: Family History Centers > Subject: New Online Site > > The new online site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- > Day Saints contains two types of records: > > 1. The IGI (International Genealogical Index) > 2. The Ancestral File > > IGI. The IGI is a composite of extracted parish registers in > the US and 42 countries. Also, it contains Family Group > Sheets submitted by members. > > Batch Numbers. An important item to watch for is the "Batch > Number". If the batch number is preceded by an alpha letter, > such as C803406 - that means that the information came from > an extracted record, such as birth, christening or marriage > record. It does not include death records. You can order > this record from the church (film number is listed), > however, no additional information will be found. The best > thing to do is to go to a local Family History Center, look > under "Parish Registers", and locate the parish register in > question. You can order that register on microfilm, and take > a look at the "mortuary" or "deaths". This additional > information is quite helpful, as it helps identify the > oldest ancestors residing in that parish. > > If the batch number is a plain 6 digit number (such as > 330906), that means that the information came from a Family > Group Sheet submitted by a member, and, you can order that > record on microfilm to view for yourself. It may or may not > have additional information about other family members. That > depends on the time-period involved. For example, during the > 1970's, sheets for "individual" were used (as well as > regular family group sheets) which did not list the whole > family. > > ANCESTRAL FILE. This a composite of pedigrees submitted to > the Ancestral Unit of the Church of Jesus Christ of > Latter-Day Saints by members and non-members alike. > Essentially, here is what happens: > > When the pedigree is received the "computer" determines if > there is a family match, and if so, merges any new > information with the old information. For this reason, you > will sometimes find an example like this - John b. 1800, > John b. 1803, listed as separate children. Since the date > was not exact, the computer treated both Johns as separate > individuals. > > The Ancestral File is "full of errors". Although a source or > reference may have been included by the submitter, the > program does not yet allow this into it. (They are working > on that). It is not uncommon to find multiple errors and > entries in any given pedigree. Best to treat this > information as a "worksheet". What I do is print out the > pedigree chart and family group sheets, then go to work > trying to prove it. > > The IGI also contains error. Many of those errors are in the > marriage portion (event). What happens is people frequently > list the marriage license date, instead of the date it was > performed. In Georgia, for example, the top portion of the > marriage certificate is the license date, and the bottom > half is the actual marriage date. > > These records should be used as guidelines, not fact. > Accepting other people's work can really confuse our > genealogy, and cause us not to get anywhere on it. We must > search census records, county records, - census records, > county records, on and on and on, to validate the genealogy. > > So, when you access the information online, please keep this > in mind. > > LDS site - http://ldsonline.com/family.htm > Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - Family History > Center Online - - Mormans - This is the site where you will > be able to view the Ancestral File and IGI (International > Genealogical Index) online. ================ > > > ==== RAN-CLAY Mailing List ==== > To UNSUBSCRIBE the RAN-CLAY list, address your email to RAN-CLAY-L-request@rootsweb.com (or to RAN-CLAY-D-request@rootsweb.com if you receive the digest) >