What seem to me to be a very long time ago, I started researching my own JOHNSON family. Does anyone know just how common the surname JOHNSON is? I found that in order to positively identify the individual that I had to have multiple records to confirm that individual. A common name does not cut it! What I have today on this line is that there were 5 children born in GA in the 1790's... There is where it ends! My opinion being that without corroborative record we have only a same name person (not necessarily family). I found a family record in Owen County, KY that the researcher got off on a tangent and assumed the wrong William JOHNSON... The question becomes, is a Church Record enough to identify an individual? Later... -----Original Message----- From: germanna_colonies-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:germanna_colonies-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of gneolog@aol.com Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 7:22 AM To: germanna_colonies@rootsweb.com Subject: [GERMANNA] LDS records Just thought that I would pass along some info on LDS records that it took me years to learn. Most of you probably already know that many of the files are submitted by researchers and like many doing genealogy -- some are good researchers and some are less than good. Some are happy just collecting names and dates and some won't submit anything without a source for the material. BUT when using the IGI portion of the records if you see a B, a C or a M in the Batch number -- that info was taken from an actual Birth, Christening or Marriage Record -- church or county records. It is still helpful to gaze upon the actual record yourself because you know the family better and can sometimes understand the spelling of a name rather than guessing at the spelling in old records. At least you know a date and a location to get an actual record. So look for those letters when working in IGI files and as far as the ancestral files-- CAUTION. Take care. Marilyn