I have had a good experience with BDM staff about notifying incorrect entries in the online search..for instance I was looking for a William Queenin and his name was recorded as LUCCIN..obviously a transcruiber's error, in confusing the copperplate writing for Q..which looks like and L.. I sent an email to one of the staff , they looked into it and corrected it quickly and advised me of same. Chris Melbourne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeanette de Montalk" <[email protected]> To: "Angela Reynolds" <[email protected]> Cc: "new-zealand" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2017 2:04 PM Subject: Re: [nz] NZ Births Index -missing names > Can someone tell me how to notify the people in charge when you find an > incorrect entry on BDMs? > Jeanette > > Sent from my iPad > >> On 22/01/2017, at 13:13, Angela Reynolds <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Hi all >> >> Forgive me for posting this reply on a public list but as someone with a >> past professional involvement in the compilation of the NZ BDM indexes I >> take a particular interest in the accuracy of those indexes and wanted to >> help set the record straight about them. >> >> Back in the late 1990s (before I got involved in genealogy), I personally >> wrote the specifications for the data capture of the BDM records and was >> then one of the team evaluating the tenders received for the work. But I >> changed employers soon after the contract was signed and therefore had no >> further professional involvement in the BDM project. There is much I >> could >> say about that project but it is inappropriate for me to do so in this >> forum >> except perhaps to say that I'm fully aware of the costs which were >> involved >> and the myriad of background issues, both technical and >> political/financial >> and the balances/compromises that must sometimes be made between what is >> desired and what is affordable. >> >> Like most on this list, I'm a frequent user of the BDM website. With >> many >> Scandinavian & other European names and their multiple spelling >> variations >> to research, I would 'really' love a wild card search facility. Also >> I've >> done a great deal of WW1 research and found a perhaps surprisingly high >> proportion of discrepancies between the DOBs on the WW1 files and the BDM >> records. Indeed with WW1 records, I've even found the occasional persons >> who lowered their age by more than 10 years. >> >> However, with considerable patience, diligence and imagination, most BDM >> entries can usually be found. The BDM indexes on microfiche provide an >> excellent and very useful cross-check facility against the website - but >> please remember that even the microfiche are not always infallible. >> >> I looked at three of the birth entries, you thought missing from 1860 and >> found all three: >> 'ALLAN, NR' can be found online spelt as 'ALLEN' in 1860. >> 'RIDDLE, Hellen Louisa' can be found spelt as 'RIDDELL' in 1860. >> 'DASH, Eugine Mary ' can be found, not in 1860 as thought, but in the >> following year as 1861/10856 DASH, Eugine Mary, parents Mary/Jacob - born >> 28 >> June 1861. >> >> Above all, please remember that until the last few decades, all registers >> Hi all >> >> Forgive me for posting this reply on a public list but as someone with a >> past professional involvement in the compilation of the NZ BDM indexes I >> take a particular interest in the accuracy of those indexes and wanted to >> help set the record straight about them. >> >> Back in the late 1990s (before I got involved in genealogy), I personally >> wrote the specifications for the data capture of the BDM records and was >> then one of the team evaluating the tenders received for the work. But I >> changed employers soon after the contract was signed and therefore had no >> further professional involvement in the BDM project. There is much I >> could >> say about that project but it is inappropriate for me to do so in this >> forum >> except perhaps to say that I'm fully aware of the costs which were >> involved >> and the myriad of background issues, both technical and >> political/financial >> and the balances/compromises that must sometimes be made between what is >> desired and what is affordable. >> >> Like most on this list, I'm a frequent user of the BDM website. With >> many >> Scandinavian & other European names and their multiple spelling >> variations >> to research, I would 'really' love a wild card search facility. Also >> I've >> done a great deal of WW1 research and found a perhaps surprisingly high >> proportion of discrepancies between the DOBs on the WW1 files and the BDM >> records. Indeed with WW1 records, I've even found the occasional persons >> who lowered their age by more than 10 years. >> >> However, with considerable patience, diligence and imagination, most BDM >> entries can usually be found. The BDM indexes on microfiche provide an >> excellent and very useful cross-check facility against the website - but >> please remember that even the microfiche are not always infallible. >> >> I looked at three of the birth entries, you thought missing from 1860 and >> found all three: >> 'ALLAN, NR' can be found online spelt as 'ALLEN' in 1860. >> 'RIDDLE, Hellen Louisa' can be found spelt as 'RIDDELL' in 1860. >> 'DASH, Eugine Mary ' can be found, not in 1860 as thought, but in the >> following year as 1861/10856 DASH, Eugine Mary, parents Mary/Jacob - born >> 28 >> June 1861. >> >> Above all, please remember that until the last few decades, all registers >> were hand-written and some of this handwriting must have been a nightmare >> for the transcribers to decipher especially when dealing with names that >> were foreign to them or names that were a different spelling of a name >> the >> transcriber thought they knew well. >> >> Some suggestions, after you've exhausted the common spelling variations >> such >> as ALLAN/ALLEN, ANDERSON/ANDERSEN, etc: >> >> 1. Try looking a few years either side of the year you think the event >> occurred - often descendants remembered a birthday (ie day & month) but >> either didn't remember the correct year or had incorrect information for >> one >> reason or another. >> >> 2. Try dropping the O in front of Irish surnames such as O'CONNOR and >> look >> for plain CONNOR. >> >> 3. Try writing the name down yourself and looking at it very carefully >> through a transcriber's eyes - how might they have interpreted some of >> the >> letters? For example, a K instead of H, an R instead of N, an E instead >> of >> I and soon on.... And sometimes the last letter (especially an E) is >> either >> added or dropped by mistake - for example KEAN may become KEANE and vice >> versa. >> >> 4. If all else fails for a birth record, try searching under the mother's >> maiden surname. (For example, I eventually found one of my great-aunts in >> the BDM index quite by accident. She was #7 of 10 children and I'd >> already >> purchased birth printouts of all siblings in the pre-online days, so I >> knew >> her birth was registered correctly. But I could not for the life of me >> find >> her in the online index, until one day when I was researching for someone >> else and spotted my great-aunt indexed under her mother's maiden surname. >> In this example, the microfiche has her name recorded correctly but the >> online index was wrong). >> >> 5. Lastly, I finally found the death of my gg-grandfather McLAREN, had >> been >> recorded (by the Registrar of the day) as McLEAN. In that case, the >> informant/funeral director was a McLEAN and someone had got the two names >> confused at the time the death was registered. There was an obituary in >> the >> local paper for my ancestor, he had a probate file and his headstone is >> still legible - and all of these sources show him correctly as McLAREN. >> The >> handwriting on the death registration was very clear but it was wrong and >> because of this, the subsequent transcriptions to both the microfiche and >> the website are 'correct but wrong'. >> >> Hope some of these suggestions help others in their research >> Angela >> >> >> This email has been scanned by BullGuard antivirus protection. >> For more info visit www.bullguard.com >> >> >> >> >> The List Guidelines >> >> http://new-zealand-l.blogspot.com/ >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > The List Guidelines > > http://new-zealand-l.blogspot.com/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I have had a rather mixed response. After a bit of work on my behalf to find the original entries some rather more obvious errors have been corrected. But how does one know if an event has been recorded incorrectly or is just missing. I am still looking for: James Ernest LOVIE born 1877 probably in Auckland. James was the eldest son and second child of James LOVIE and Mary Elizabeth (SIMPSON). His 9 siblings are all showing on the index although there is a death in 1886 of a 3-month-old child Alexander William who also does not appear in the birth index. Edward Bacon SIMPSON born about 1869 possibly at Thames, and Ellen Stuart SIMPSON born about 1873 possibly at Te Awamutu, children of John SIMPSON and Mary Elizabeth (WETHERALL). This family arrived in New Zealand in 1866. A daughter Euphemia SIMPSON was born in 1867 at Parnell and appears in the BDM index. These children were not illegitimate and the parents had previously registered the births of children in New Zealand, and in the case of the SIMPSON family, in Scotland. Regards, Christine J Tregonning -----Original Message----- From: NEW-ZEALAND [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris Sent: Sunday, 22 January 2017 7:13 PM To: Jeanette de Montalk <[email protected]>; Angela Reynolds <[email protected]> Cc: new-zealand <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [nz] NZ Births Index -missing names I have had a good experience with BDM staff about notifying incorrect entries in the online search..for instance I was looking for a William Queenin and his name was recorded as LUCCIN..obviously a transcruiber's error, in confusing the copperplate writing for Q..which looks like and L.. I sent an email to one of the staff , they looked into it and corrected it quickly and advised me of same. Chris Melbourne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeanette de Montalk" <[email protected]> To: "Angela Reynolds" <[email protected]> Cc: "new-zealand" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2017 2:04 PM Subject: Re: [nz] NZ Births Index -missing names > Can someone tell me how to notify the people in charge when you find an > incorrect entry on BDMs? > Jeanette > > Sent from my iPad > >> On 22/01/2017, at 13:13, Angela Reynolds <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Hi all >> >> Forgive me for posting this reply on a public list but as someone with a >> past professional involvement in the compilation of the NZ BDM indexes I >> take a particular interest in the accuracy of those indexes and wanted to >> help set the record straight about them. >> >> Back in the late 1990s (before I got involved in genealogy), I personally >> wrote the specifications for the data capture of the BDM records and was >> then one of the team evaluating the tenders received for the work. But I >> changed employers soon after the contract was signed and therefore had no >> further professional involvement in the BDM project. There is much I >> could >> say about that project but it is inappropriate for me to do so in this >> forum >> except perhaps to say that I'm fully aware of the costs which were >> involved >> and the myriad of background issues, both technical and >> political/financial >> and the balances/compromises that must sometimes be made between what is >> desired and what is affordable. >> >> Like most on this list, I'm a frequent user of the BDM website. With >> many >> Scandinavian & other European names and their multiple spelling >> variations >> to research, I would 'really' love a wild card search facility. Also >> I've >> done a great deal of WW1 research and found a perhaps surprisingly high >> proportion of discrepancies between the DOBs on the WW1 files and the BDM >> records. Indeed with WW1 records, I've even found the occasional persons >> who lowered their age by more than 10 years. >> >> However, with considerable patience, diligence and imagination, most BDM >> entries can usually be found. The BDM indexes on microfiche provide an >> excellent and very useful cross-check facility against the website - but >> please remember that even the microfiche are not always infallible. >> >> I looked at three of the birth entries, you thought missing from 1860 and >> found all three: >> 'ALLAN, NR' can be found online spelt as 'ALLEN' in 1860. >> 'RIDDLE, Hellen Louisa' can be found spelt as 'RIDDELL' in 1860. >> 'DASH, Eugine Mary ' can be found, not in 1860 as thought, but in the >> following year as 1861/10856 DASH, Eugine Mary, parents Mary/Jacob - born >> 28 >> June 1861. >> >> Above all, please remember that until the last few decades, all registers >> Hi all >> >> Forgive me for posting this reply on a public list but as someone with a >> past professional involvement in the compilation of the NZ BDM indexes I >> take a particular interest in the accuracy of those indexes and wanted to >> help set the record straight about them. >> >> Back in the late 1990s (before I got involved in genealogy), I personally >> wrote the specifications for the data capture of the BDM records and was >> then one of the team evaluating the tenders received for the work. But I >> changed employers soon after the contract was signed and therefore had no >> further professional involvement in the BDM project. There is much I >> could >> say about that project but it is inappropriate for me to do so in this >> forum >> except perhaps to say that I'm fully aware of the costs which were >> involved >> and the myriad of background issues, both technical and >> political/financial >> and the balances/compromises that must sometimes be made between what is >> desired and what is affordable. >> >> Like most on this list, I'm a frequent user of the BDM website. With >> many >> Scandinavian & other European names and their multiple spelling >> variations >> to research, I would 'really' love a wild card search facility. Also >> I've >> done a great deal of WW1 research and found a perhaps surprisingly high >> proportion of discrepancies between the DOBs on the WW1 files and the BDM >> records. Indeed with WW1 records, I've even found the occasional persons >> who lowered their age by more than 10 years. >> >> However, with considerable patience, diligence and imagination, most BDM >> entries can usually be found. The BDM indexes on microfiche provide an >> excellent and very useful cross-check facility against the website - but >> please remember that even the microfiche are not always infallible. >> >> I looked at three of the birth entries, you thought missing from 1860 and >> found all three: >> 'ALLAN, NR' can be found online spelt as 'ALLEN' in 1860. >> 'RIDDLE, Hellen Louisa' can be found spelt as 'RIDDELL' in 1860. >> 'DASH, Eugine Mary ' can be found, not in 1860 as thought, but in the >> following year as 1861/10856 DASH, Eugine Mary, parents Mary/Jacob - born >> 28 >> June 1861. >> >> Above all, please remember that until the last few decades, all registers >> were hand-written and some of this handwriting must have been a nightmare >> for the transcribers to decipher especially when dealing with names that >> were foreign to them or names that were a different spelling of a name >> the >> transcriber thought they knew well. >> >> Some suggestions, after you've exhausted the common spelling variations >> such >> as ALLAN/ALLEN, ANDERSON/ANDERSEN, etc: >> >> 1. Try looking a few years either side of the year you think the event >> occurred - often descendants remembered a birthday (ie day & month) but >> either didn't remember the correct year or had incorrect information for >> one >> reason or another. >> >> 2. Try dropping the O in front of Irish surnames such as O'CONNOR and >> look >> for plain CONNOR. >> >> 3. Try writing the name down yourself and looking at it very carefully >> through a transcriber's eyes - how might they have interpreted some of >> the >> letters? For example, a K instead of H, an R instead of N, an E instead >> of >> I and soon on.... And sometimes the last letter (especially an E) is >> either >> added or dropped by mistake - for example KEAN may become KEANE and vice >> versa. >> >> 4. If all else fails for a birth record, try searching under the mother's >> maiden surname. (For example, I eventually found one of my great-aunts in >> the BDM index quite by accident. She was #7 of 10 children and I'd >> already >> purchased birth printouts of all siblings in the pre-online days, so I >> knew >> her birth was registered correctly. But I could not for the life of me >> find >> her in the online index, until one day when I was researching for someone >> else and spotted my great-aunt indexed under her mother's maiden surname. >> In this example, the microfiche has her name recorded correctly but the >> online index was wrong). >> >> 5. Lastly, I finally found the death of my gg-grandfather McLAREN, had >> been >> recorded (by the Registrar of the day) as McLEAN. In that case, the >> informant/funeral director was a McLEAN and someone had got the two names >> confused at the time the death was registered. There was an obituary in >> the >> local paper for my ancestor, he had a probate file and his headstone is >> still legible - and all of these sources show him correctly as McLAREN. >> The >> handwriting on the death registration was very clear but it was wrong and >> because of this, the subsequent transcriptions to both the microfiche and >> the website are 'correct but wrong'. >> >> Hope some of these suggestions help others in their research >> Angela >> >> >> This email has been scanned by BullGuard antivirus protection. >> For more info visit www.bullguard.com >> >> >> >> >> The List Guidelines >> >> http://new-zealand-l.blogspot.com/ >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > The List Guidelines > > http://new-zealand-l.blogspot.com/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message The List Guidelines http://new-zealand-l.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Yes it's correcting an entry rather than finding one I'm interested in. Jeanette Sent from my iPad > On 22/01/2017, at 19:12, Chris <[email protected]> wrote: > > I have had a good experience with BDM staff about notifying incorrect entries in the online search..for instance I was looking for a William Queenin and his name was recorded as LUCCIN..obviously a transcruiber's error, in confusing the copperplate writing for Q..which looks like and L.. I sent an email to one of the staff , they looked into it and corrected it quickly and advised me of same. > > Chris > Melbourne > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeanette de Montalk" <[email protected]> > To: "Angela Reynolds" <[email protected]> > Cc: "new-zealand" <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2017 2:04 PM > Subject: Re: [nz] NZ Births Index -missing names > > >> Can someone tell me how to notify the people in charge when you find an incorrect entry on BDMs? >> Jeanette >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >>> On 22/01/2017, at 13:13, Angela Reynolds <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Hi all >>> >>> Forgive me for posting this reply on a public list but as someone with a >>> past professional involvement in the compilation of the NZ BDM indexes I >>> take a particular interest in the accuracy of those indexes and wanted to >>> help set the record straight about them. >>> >>> Back in the late 1990s (before I got involved in genealogy), I personally >>> wrote the specifications for the data capture of the BDM records and was >>> then one of the team evaluating the tenders received for the work. But I >>> changed employers soon after the contract was signed and therefore had no >>> further professional involvement in the BDM project. There is much I could >>> say about that project but it is inappropriate for me to do so in this