Francesco Acciarito wrote: > Hi listers, > I have found a possible ancestor with the christian name of Mercy > (female) but when looking for her name in the IGI, it often comes up as > Mary. Question is, are the two names interchangeable, entirely seperate > names or is Mercy a 'nick-name' for Mary??? > Her surname is unkown, but she married Charles MILLER and had a son > George MILLER c1787, possibly in Eastling. The only entry I could find > for a George was with parents Charles and Mary Colcot. > Any help appreciated. > Robyn of Oz. I have volunteered for quite a few years at a large LDS Family History Center. I have learned that there are great many flaws in the IGI and, even worse, in Ancestral File. I suggest researchers use this website www.familysearch.org, not only for the great catalog but also for *Guidance*. I believe the familysearch.org staff are now building familysearch.wiki [or some such URL] and posting their Research Outlines on that. I just learned about this new feature recently and have not had occasion to use it a great deal. If not, just use the URL given and click on the tab labeled Guidance. See if there is a Research Outline for IGI [International Genealogical Index]. However, unless the batch number which is given to an entry in IGI has a letter attached to it, such as capital C or capital M--or similar--the information is probably highly unreliable. C=christening; M=marriage; W=will. You will not find Deaths listed. I suggest the submitter try to find whether any parish records are on the internet for her parish. If not, it may well pay to ask the county record office for Kent [which one for Easterling?] to do some research for her. I have not had the county record office [I believe there are two--am I right?] in Kent do research for me, but I have used such offices in Bedfordshire and in Suffolk, and have been most pleased with the results. When one doesn't live near UK, this is a most satisfactory method for doing English family history, I have found. I do love to come to UK, but it is not currently possible. Anyway, learn with the help of the professional staff at Family History Library in Salt Lake City--perhaps an e-mail--how to use the IGI to best advantage. As stated, much of it is highly unreliable. And learn to use google.com Do place searches, name searches, etc. E.W.Wallace California

EVELYN WALLACE wrote: > I have volunteered for quite a few years at a large LDS Family > History Center. I have learned that there are great many flaws in > the IGI and, even worse, in Ancestral File. Ancestral Files can be wonderful works of fiction but can also be completely accurate. The one thing I would point out is that Ancestral Files are NOT always the work of the submitter so contacting that person won't always be useful in identifying the sources of information simply because the submitter won't know where the original researcher found the data. > I suggest researchers use this website www.familysearch.org, not > only for the great catalog but also for *Guidance*. Agreed. When I first started using the IGI is was an excellent resource but over the decades more and more patron submissions have been included which can range from complete accuracy to pure fantasy. > However, unless the batch number which is given to an entry in IGI > has a letter attached to it, such as capital C or capital M--or > similar--the information is probably highly unreliable. > C=christening; M=marriage; W=will. You will not find Deaths > listed. There ARE deaths listed but not very many. I've come across a few. Extractions are generally regarded as being accurate but even these can go astray at times for one reason or another: bad handwriting in the original register, misreading lines (eg name from line 10 of the register "matched" with data from line 11 which is easy done). There are two other letters I've found used for batch numbers: 'P' and 'I'. > I suggest the submitter try to find whether any parish records are > on the internet for her parish. If not, it may well pay to ask the > county record office for Kent [which one for Easterling?] to do > some research for her. The main record office is in Maidstone (IIRC) but there is a local studies library in Rochester and no doubt in other places as well. > > I have not had the county record office [I believe there are > two--am I right?] in Kent do research for me, but I have used such > offices in Bedfordshire and in Suffolk, and have been most pleased > with the results. When one doesn't live near UK, this is a most > satisfactory method for doing English family history, I have found. There's more and more becoming available online now through such resources as CityArk, Ancestry (some Kent parishes are included in the London Parishes section), FreeREG as well as record offices themselves. > And learn to use google.com Do place searches, name searches, > etc. I agree, search engines can produce surprising results from unexpected sources. I'd also suggest not limiting use of a search engine to just Google. There are others and they can produced hits Google doesn't. -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Greinton and Clutton, SOM Asst OPC for Ashcott and Shapwick, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk

EVELYN WALLACE wrote: content snipped > However, unless the batch number which is given to an entry in IGI has a letter attached to it, such as capital C or capital M--or similar--the information is probably highly unreliable. C=christening; M=marriage; W=will. You will not find Deaths listed. > > Look at the "Messages" section at the bottom of the IGI Individual Record. If the entry is an extracted entry from a parish register ("Extracted birth or christening record for the locality listed in the record. The source records are usually arranged chronologically by the birth or christening date"), then it is more likely to be correct than if it is a patron submission ("record submitted by a member of the LDS Church") - some of those are pure fantasy (eg entries for "Mrs Joe Blow" or "born about 1600" "of London" etc.). Not all extracted entries have a C or an M in the batch number, there are other letters used as well ('I' is one that springs to mind, I think it usually indicates a mixed batch) Even in the case of an extracted parish record, it is still advisable to order the film from your local Family History Centre and sight the actual entry - transcriptions are only as good as the transcribers and some of the handwriting is vile. Anne South Australia