Indexes are among the most often used tools for
family historians, and while they are a great aid in the location of
records, they are secondary sources of information and should be evaluated
carefully when used. Below are some points to keep in mind when you
are referencing an index.
Omissions
If you don't find an ancestor in an index, it does
not mean that a record for that person does not exist. Omissions are
some of the most common errors found in indexes. If you are reasonably
sure that a record should exist, you might want to try wading through
the records the "old fashioned way"--one at a time. Though this may
seem intimidating at first, there may be ways to make this search a
bit easier. You will first want to assess in what order the records
are in on the microfilm or how they are filed. If they are filed by
date, you may be able to narrow your search by estimating the date of
the record. If you have a location, a directory or other record with
an address may aid in the search.
Scope and Criteria
When referencing a published index, you will want
to read the introduction, foreword, or other bibliographic text to learn
what criteria was used to determine what records were included in the
index. In the 1880 Soundex for the U.S. Census, only families with children
ten years of age and under were included. You will need to also determine
whether the index includes every name mentioned in the record, or just
principal subject of the record? Does it only cover a particular time
period or geographical area? If the index is geographic in nature, are
the boundaries of the region the same now as they were at the time that
the record was created, and if they are different, which boundaries
did the indexer use? Is it an index to all of a particular record or
only the records that were available at a particular location? Or maybe
it is a master index of other indexes that were available at the time
of publication? By familiarizing yourself with the scope of the publication,
you will be able to have better expectations of what you will find in
the publication.
Misspellings
Misspellings are another cause for concern when consulting
an index. When consulting indexes in database form, you may have the
option of using a Soundex feature in your search, which may help avoid
the pitfalls of misspelled names. With indexes in book form (and some
databases), you have the option of scanning through the index to find
misspelled names. But when you consider that many indexes were compiled
from old records that were handwritten--some in old script, some in
just plain bad handwriting--which may have faded throughout the years,
it is not surprising to find errors that may place your surnames in
entirely different sections of the alphabet. Letters that are commonly
mistaken for one another include:
S and L
T and F
J, G, and Y
I and J
K and R
O and Q
P and R
U and W
Arrangement
It is a good idea to scan the entire index to see
how it is arranged. During my recent visit to the Family History Library,
I was searching through some Ohio marriage records that according to
the catalog were indexed at the start of each volume. As I went through
the index, I noticed several things. First, although the surnames were
alphabetized by the first letter, that was the extent of the alphabetization.
Within each letter, I had to go through all of the names to find the
surname I was searching for. Secondly, some of the alphabetized letters
were filmed out of order, and some were split. I found one list that
went from J to K to L and then back to J. There were also several pages
of S's and some of these were at the end of the index, as if the indexer
had run out of room on the pages he had set aside for S and continued
it at the end of the index.
Another factor that some will need to consider
is where prefixes like Mc, Mac, de, or O' are listed. Some may list
them at the beginning of the letter, while others will be contained
within in alphabetical order.
Other Factors
Other factors that you will want to keep in mind
when using indexes include:
----- Mistakes in original records will be recorded
"as is" in the index.
----- In large projects, there may have been many people, of different
skill levels doing the transcriptions so some portions of an index will
have different levels of accuracy.
----- In census indexes, you can find nuns listed with 'Sister' as the
surname.
Summing Up
Despite the possible inaccuracies, indexes remain
one of the family historian's most valuable tools. They open up huge
collections that would normally take many hours (or even years) of research
time to go through individually, and in database form, they allow genealogists
to search millions of records with the click of the mouse. By realizing
the inherent flaws in these finding aids, we can utilize them more fully
and conserve valuable research time. While they may not be perfect,
we sure are glad they are there!
Some of the notable indexes available to Ancestry.com
subscribers include:
AIS Census Indexes
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/main.htm
The PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/periodicals/persi/main.htm
American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/inddbs/3599.htm
Social Security Death Index (SSDI)--FREE to all
visitors
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm
Advanced Global Searches of all Ancestry databases
can be done at:
http://www.ancestry.com/search/advsearch.htm
To search by record type, go to:
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/main.htm
To view a list of all Ancestry databases, go to:
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/alldblist.asp
Note: This is a large file and may take longer than normal load time.
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