Hi all, Charles D.Degener sent this lesson to me from the Ancestry.com site. I knew that site would have some wonderful info and it did! Thanks Charles! I truly appreciate it and know that this answers the original question on the IGI. I found this refreshing and informative even though I have been searching through the IGI for years. Those of you new to genealogy and the IGI in specific will find this worthwhile to print up and take with you when you go to your local FHC to find those records ;) Terri ------------------------------------------------------- LESSON #2 THE INTERNATIONAL GENEALOGICAL INDEX ­ IGI (revised 6/97) DearREADERS, Genealogists visiting a local LDS Family History Center must begin by checking all known previously submitted research. One great source is the International Genealogical Index or IGI. The IGI is the single largest genealogical database of names in the world. It consists of names submitted, for any time period, since the Genealogical Society of Utah began to keep computerized records in October 1969. Each LDS Family History Center has a copy of the IGI, which is published on microfiche every 4th year. It is also available on CD-ROM for those centers equipped with FamilySearch (tm) computer systems. Currently there are over 187 million names in the main IGI. HOW TO USE THE IGI? Assuming there is a run on computer time at your local Family History Center, let's discuss the microfiche version of the IGI first. 1. Look for the correct LOCALITY. Suppose that your GGfather was born in Pennsylvania. You would go to the IGI fiche for PENNSYLVANIA. If your GGfather was born in PA, married in OHIO and died in MISSOURI you would have THREE states to look for him! Leaf through the fiche 'til you: 2. Locate the nearest SURNAME at the top fiche label. If the next fiche alphabetically is not the correct surname, you know to use the previous one. There are over 16,000 names on each fiche! Look up the name the way you expect it to be spelled, and if it is not filed that way, the IGI will tell you which spelling to use! Remember we have records from all over the world. The FHL chose the most common spelling of a name, and interfiles all sound-alike surnames under that main spelling. If you were to look up your ancestor under one of the less common spellings it refers you to the common speeling! For instance...all STEVENSONS may be filed under STEVENSEN along with STEPHENSON or STEPHENSEN, etc. This is wonderful! Otherwise, you'd have to think of every possible spelling of your surname and look in each of those places! interfiling variant surname spelling eliminates the possibility of missing your ancestor in this huge database of names. Once you have found the correct fiche: Notice that the IGI lists the information in columns as follows: 1.Name of the individual 2.Name of parents or spouse 3.Male/Female (if birth or H=husband/W=wife if marriage) 4.Type of event. One digit letters indicate the type of record such as: •  b = birth record •  c = christening record •  m = marriage •  d = death •  p = probate record •  n = census record. You are reminded of these abbreviations on each page of the IGI: •  Event Date •  County, City or Town    (Remember we already chose the state before looking for the surname in Pennsylvania.) •  LDS Baptism Date •  LDS Endowment Date •  LDS Sealing Date The last two columns of the IGI give information as to the batch number (of supporting documents) which were used to enter the data into the IGI in the first place. HOW DO NAMES GET INTO THE IGI? Just because your ancestor wasn't a member of the LDS church doesn't mean he won't appear on the International Genealogical Index. It merely means that one of your ancestor's other living relatives has possibly submitted the name to the IGI. There is a second way names get into this huge genealogical database. Through names extracted from original records, such as census or church records. I have participated in such a "name extraction program" extracting information on Mexico Catholic church christening records form 1680. (That was fun deciphering the handwriting!) This program has provisions for a system of checks and balances, so that two if not three people view each christening record and type the details into a computer program. Once you find an entry in the IGI for someone on your pedigree chart, copy the information. For those centers without microfiche reader/printers, you may use an IGI extraction form, complete with rows and labeled column headings. PHOTO-DUPLICATION REQUEST FORM No research project is complete without the supporting documents in hand. It is possible to get copies of documents which prompted the IGI entry using the photo duplication form also available at the LDS Family History Center. Such copies can prove most enlightening! I have received a photocopy of an original family group sheet which lists other members of the family not mentioned. It was the IGI entry was called a "marriage entry form" of my ggfather in PA. It had an attached family group sheet which listed the known children of the marriage as well as info on his birth in New York. His parents were also listed! Additionally, the family group sheet would have the name/address/phone # of the person who submitted the form. If they are still residing at the location indicated, you may share info with them via mail!! Other supporting documents might include such things as entries extracted from a microfilm of the christening record of a given church, microfilm of a county's probate records. Generally since the name extraction program involves original records, and the double bind system, we consider them to be more accurate than patron entries. When you complete the photo duplication form and send it to Salt Lake City, a worker in the main FHL Family History Library looks at the film and photocopies the pages regarding your ancestor! In the case of extracted entries, you can get very excited, because you'll usually receive a photocopy of the actual record of the event, not here-say notations or family tradition! On occasion, the photocopy you will receive is merely a computer printout of the data that was entered in the extraction computers, showing the page where you ancestor's information is listed. This checking of the IGI saves tons of time when previous research has been done on you ancestor! If you don't find your actual ancestor...but find others with the same surname (hopefully not Smith) in the same small county or town. It is a good idea to get the additional supporting documentation, because they are likely cousins of some sort of your actual ancestor! Sometimes...after exhausting all possible avenues, we have to turn to such cousins to trace the line back. Question: When you say these records are from all over the world, do you mean that I can get info about ancestors in Germany? Answer: Yes. There could be patron or extracted entries. This grows each year, so check it whenever a new version comes out! Question: How much does the photo duplication cost? Answer: About 25 cents per exposure....$2 minimum order. Question: Is there a fee for using a LDS Family History Center? Answer: No, each LDS Family History Center is operating as a non-profit organization. If you need to order a microfilm on your area, which is not already on loan from the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, there is a small fee of $3.50 or so to rent the film! The microfilm/fiche viewers are there to be of use to you in your research for free. Question: Do they loan materials for home use, or strictly in the Center? Answer: Since the LDS Family History Centers are strictly reference libraries, materials must be kept at each center. Question: Is the CD-ROM version of the IGI much different from the fiche version? Answer: It is more readily updated. There is currently one addendum which comprises several CD-ROMS. USING THE CD-ROM VERSION OF THE IGI Many LDS FamilyHistory Centers have been equipped with FamilySearch(tm) computer systems that can read the CD-ROM version of the IGI. There is the main IGI, and the addendum IGI. Be sure to check both for each of your ancestors. Begin by choosing the locality (all US or British Isles, etc.) where your ancestors once lived. Then type the surname and given name of your ancestor, in order to see that alphabetical portion of the IGI database. You will be instructed what CD-ROM to insert in the drive. However, in addition to this individual search there is a parents search option available. If you find one ancestor, with parents listed, go to the parent search option to discover all known children of that couple. When you do find information on your ancestor in the IGI on CD-ROM you can make a paper print-out of the information, a text file copy to floppy disk and a GEDCOM file to floppy disk. The disks are a minimal 75 cents. The text file can be read by your word processing program at home. The GEDCOM file can be imported into your existing genealogy management program on your home computer. Sincerely, Myrtle :) Additional reading: Cerny, Johni & Elliott, Wendy, editors, THE LIBRARY: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library, 1988. pp10-14 Salt Lake: Ancestry Publishing. LDS Family History Library, Research Outline: Using the IGI on Microfiche IBID, Research Outline: Using the IGI on CD-ROM ————————————  DearMYRTLE  ———————————— is a daily genealogy column (KEYWORD: dearmyrtle) published on America Online in the Genealogy Forum and at Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com. Due to the volume of e-mail, Myrt is unable to respond to each individually. Representative samples are used as a basis for articles from time to time. Contact DearMYRTLE at: dearmyrtle@aol.com or dearmyrtle@ancestry-inc.com ————————— copyright 1998 Ancestry All  Rights Reserved——————————