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Archiver > TMG > 2005-05 > 1115136536


From: "Stuart Armstrong" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Bibliography - IGI Entries
Date: Tue, 3 May 2005 10:08:56 -0600
References: <20050428172537.96225.qmail@web30808.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


Excellent, Tom!

I would like to point out also that the IGI has two types of entries:
Extracted records (extracted by teams from original records)
Member submitted records (which are completely undocumented -- even the name of the submitter is not always given).

Obviously there is a great difference in quality between the two types. The extracted records are extracted by people who don't necessarily have much experience, but they are checked by a supervisor who also reviews the same originals, or photocopies or images thereof. The experience of the extraction team varies. But at least these are somewhat reliable because they do come from original sources and require collaboration of two people before they are accepted.

The second category, submitted records, is just some unknown and often un-named researcher's assertion of what he or she thinks is fact, without any documentation and often without any direct way of knowing whether the submitter knew anything at all, or actually researched it or just guessed. My own research of Mexican records is revealing that as many as two thirds of the member submitted Birth, Marriage, and Death dates found in the IGI for my wife's family are wrong!

In my Master Source List, I have four different sources for the IGI.
IGI: Extracted record.
IGI: Membership record.
IGI: Submitted record.
IGI: Ordinance record.

Membership records are another category, taken from church membership rolls of deceased persons. I do not know much about these, about how the member information found on FamilySearch.com is compiled, but I suspect their reliability is somewhere between that of extracted and submitted records. Church membership records are kept in Salt Lake, copies in the individual wards. The master records are updated whenever the Ward Clerk submits a correction. Having been a ward membership clerk myself, I know that it is often very difficult to obtain accurate information about a member, for a variety of reasons, so these records are not as accurate as one would like them to be.

Ordinance records are only of interest to LDS researchers, except that in order for the ordinances to be performed there must be certain Birth/Christening, Marriage, or Death/Burial information submitted. This vital information then would have the same reliability as submitted records (meaning, not much), whereas the ordinance information itself comes from church documentation of temple ordinances and should be considered a primary source (primary for the ordinance events only, not for the auxiliary BMD information).

Stuart Armstrong
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Clough<mailto:>
To: <mailto:>
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:25 AM
Subject: Re: [TMG] Bibliography - IGI Entries


>
> I use Ancestral File for a source if I have no other source. Often, I
> later find a good source besides Ancestral File for that tag. Often I
> find that AF was wrong. Otherwise, I'd have to keep another database
> with the stuff I found in Ancestral File that are certainly clues to
> links, even if later they turn out to be wrong. I see no problem with
> it as long as you note where the information came from so you or others
> don't take it as gospel.
>

I too will use Ancestral File or IGI if it is all I have. I added cautions to
the source types though:

[CD1] ; [ITAL:]Ancestral File[:ITAL]<, [VERSION]> <([DATE])>, The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Online: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.,
1999-2003), http://www.familysearch.com<http://www.familysearch.com/><;, accessed [CD2]>. CAUTION -
Information in Ancestral File should be verified with other sources whenever
possible. <CD1 is AFN name and ID, CD2 is Access date [HELP]>

[CD1] entry; <FHL Film Number [CD2]; >[ITAL:]International Genealogical Index
(IGI)[:ITAL]<, [VERSION]> <([DATE])>, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, (Online: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1999-2003),
http://www.familysearch.com<http://www.familysearch.com/><;, accessed [CD3]>. CAUTION - The IGI should be
considered a clue only. Whenever possible, information should be verified with
other sources.<CD1 is IGI name and ID, CD2 is batch number, CD3 is Access date
[HELP]>

Tom

Thomas Clough
<mailto:>

http://www.tomclough.com<http://www.tomclough.com/>;

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