Transcriptions are moving along quite nicely. Now, I'd like thoughts on transcribing books that follow a different format - chronological. Boston in Suffolk, and Weston & Watertown in Middlesex are some of these. I have someone who'd like to transcribe Watertown. As Lowell is coming along very nicely, why not? :-) Watertown has a lot of other information besides the births, marriages and deaths. That can be done later. The main thing are the B, M, & D. I'd like people to take a look at how these are done and see about what to do. BTW, none of these 3 towns is on the NEHGS site, so beginning to work on them would be beneficial to many people. I don't know about Ancestry.com or Genealogy.com or FamilySearch.org. Pages 1 to 10 are at http://www.rootsweb.com/~maessex/VitalRecords/MiddlesexCounty/Watertown/Images/ There does not seem to be any page 2 or 3. This is my idea -- The transciber will transcribe the entry in the same format that most of us are familiar with for Essex county - what I already have online. I'll write a program that will put it in the common format with each line having the volume & page number with a link to the image. As an example, the first enty in Watertown is: 1636. John Pickaram the hufband of Efter Pickaram buried the 10th day of the tenth month: ageed Fifty yeares. The transcription would be: PICKARAM John, h. Ester, bur. 10: 10 m: 1636, a. 50 y. (Vol. 1, p. 1) The transcriptions are a research tool. They should make it easier for the researcher to locate the records that still exist. My opinion is: As long as the transcription gets the the researcher to the records, it has done its job. Changing the format is acceptable as long as the accuracy of the content is maintained. It is and always will be the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the best documentation possible. John In loving memory of our son, Brennan. 11/10/88-5/31/01. http://john-slaughter.rootsweb.com/Brennan.html MA-Bay-Colony list moderator USGenWeb County Coordinator Essex County, MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~maessex Middlesex County, MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~mamiddle USGenWeb Town Coordinator Ipswich, Essex, MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~macipswi _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/