What is the IGI?

The acronym comes from The Church of Latter Day Saints - LDS International Genealogy Index - IGI and access is to be found on the Mormon Church site http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/default.asp which makes the immodest but undoubtedly true claim to be The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world. It is already very well known by online genealogists although it has been around only for a few years. Take a look at the site statistics they are staggering. It may come as a surprise but most records were not created for the convenience of family historians and the IGI is no different. It was created for use by the LDS church and its members. The Latterday Saints have this to say about their reasons for studying family history:
For the millions of people who lived before the Restoration of Christ's Church, Temple ordinances were not available during their lifetime. Even today, millions live and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ or without accepting the gospel he taught. Provision must be made, then, for those who have died without that opportunity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all saving ordinances are to be performed on earth on behalf of the dead. Latter-day Saints stand as proxies for their own ancestors in these ceremonies, including baptisms and sealings for husbands and wives and for parents and children. All Temple work is valid only if it is willingly accepted by each individual prior to the Resurrection. Performing Temple ordinances receives strong emphasis in the Church. Members of the Church are taught that they have a religious obligation to trace their own genealogies and perform Temple ordinances for their ancestors. To help these members in tracing their genealogies, the Church has microfilmed vital records throughout the world that identify hundreds of millions of persons who have died. The Church provides access to these records through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and in over 3,000 local family history centres. The Church has also developed large databases of genealogical information.

There are times when the IGI search engine appears not to be working properly, although not so many these days. Sometimes this is due to routine maintenance, which the site is not good at warning the searcher about; it may simply be overloaded. Be patient, remember that Utah is in a different time zone, avoid the busy times and come back to the site later. Another common problem is the discovery that names one knows to be in the database seem to have disappeared. A common reason for

this is that the Region locator has returned to its default position "North America" so be sure to check the region each time a search is made. Where to begin?

A. The HOME page; instructions for use are easy to follow and

search screens straight-forward to use. The main screen, on the home page enables a general Search For Your Ancestors by typing in a first and last name and clicking to search all online Latter-day Saints (LDS) information for occurrences of the name. Look carefully however; there are four links at the top of this page which are often missed; after all, who would look in the most obvious place?

B. SEARCH. The All Resources search on this page will usually

produce more results than it is possible to sensibly analyse, particularly for those researching more frequently encountered surnames. It can also be, at first glance, misleading; a worldwide search for John Smith will apparently find only 659 results but a glance to the right hand side of the results screen will explain why. Sources Searched shows that this number includes only 25 John Smiths from the IGI/British Isles perhaps a slight underestimate! Searches can be refined by using a year or range of years; which for the year 1875 would reduce the results obtained by a John Smith search to 394 but still only including 25 John Smiths from the IGI/British Isles. The use of this global search page may be considered by some to be of limited value but should not be ignored. A search here may uncover research already done so why repeat it? It may be true that there are many wild guesses in the IGI indexes but there is also a substantial body of information contributed by generations of dedicated researchers at least some of who were very good at what they did. The menu on the left hand side of the main search page displays links to several pages which can be used to search sections of the IGI. Including - Ancestral File , Pedigree Resource File , web page links, various censuses (including the 1881 census of England and Wales) and the immensely valuable International Genealogy Index . It is only the last of these which is relevant to this article.

It is a widely held opinion that the IGI is at the least highly inaccurate and at the best short of large chunks of information but there are methods which allow the researcher to recognise potentially inaccurate information. A search across Britain for Donald McLeod will tells one there are 200+ results which may in reality mean many thousands with the first page displaying only 200. Search for Donald in only the year 1875 and the results reduce to 17 of which some are, like the following entry, possibly guesswork. The missing and extra spaces are exactly as they appeared on the screen:
Donald Mc Leod - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Birth: About 1801 Of Oban,Kilmore, , Argyll, Scotland

The next entry, however, has a complete date and being after 1855 it correctly refers to a Birth rather than a Christening, even the location is correctly formatted but there is still one clear guide that the source of the information is not a primary one the name is not in capital letters. Check the detail page and towards the bottom is the message: Record submitted after 1991 by a member of the LDS Church which does not mean it is automatically incorrect. In this case it is later than the last of the records microfilmed by the Mormons in their extraction programme.
Donald Fraser McLeod - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Birth: 09 APR 1879 Skene, Aberdeen, Scotland

One would be unlikely to make a search without some knowledge of where the person being sought lived. The third geographic sort for an IGI search is at county level which may be fine if your ancestor lived in West Lothian but not if your ancestor lived in Glasgow which cannot be searched separately from the rest of Lanarkshire. Anyone used to searching in Scotland will be familiar with the most detailed level of search, that of the Civil Parish; a level which the IGI cannot search at least not obviously. Entries in the IGI come from two major sources of information: 1. Individual Submissions - This is the information which often leads researchers new to the internet to unfairly rubbish the IGI. Members of the LDS church regularly submit information to the

church for reasons explained above. These records are then processed and a Batch number assigned to them. Information may have been submitted online or on an Individual Entry Form or a Family Group Sheet which may or may not have provided a source. Each batch number is associated to a film which contains images of original entry forms. 2. The Name Extraction program - The Extraction Program of the Genealogical Department involves thousands of members of the church volunteering their time to extract names from records around the world. The data extracted is grouped or batched for processing. A BATCH NUMBER is assigned to each group of records submitted. Scottish parish records and post 1855 registers up to 1875 were each assigned numbers beginning with C for christening records and M for marriage records which means that if a batch number starts with M or C it was extracted from an original record. As a result a Batch Number can lead to what is effectively an index of a particular section of a single OPR. For example; on July 10th 1782 the Kirkliston OPR recorded that

John Lourie and Agnes Shutleton were married at Edinburgh irregularly.

a. A result:

An All Resources search of the IGI for Agnes baptism produces no results. Changing one letter either adding a t to produce Shuttleton or changing the u to make Shitleton achieves two things:

You searched for: Agnes Shitleton [refine search] Birth/Christening, Scotland Exact Spelling: Off Matches: All Sources - 1 International Genealogical Index - British Isles 1. AGNES SHITLETON - International Genealogical Index / BI Gender: Female Christening: 23 MAY 1756 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

b. An example of how over reliance on the SoundEx system will lead to missed information. [In an article in the September 1990 issue of Computers in Genealogy (Vol. 3, No. 7 pp. 286-8),

Alan Stanier applied a number of statistical tests to two large sets of surname data in an attempt to establish the accuracy of SoundEx coding and concluded that with the standard SoundEx coding "only a third of the matches found will be correct, while a quarter of the correct ones will go undiscovered."] The search result is appealing, the name is similar and the date is believable but where is the rest of her family? Surely she wasnt a foundling with an invented name how could anyone invent a name like that? Click the link AGNES SHITLETON and check the detail page. Look way down at the bottom and there are two links little used by many researchers:
1. Source Call No.: 1066630; which leads to confirmation that the

information is a result of the LDS Extraction programme and even provides the film number (There is a complete set of the films for the Scottish OPR in the Societys library):
Film or fiche number 1066630 Film/fiche search results Old parochial registers 1675-1854; Church of Scotland Parish Church of Kirkliston 1 title matching the film number

2. Batch No.:
C116674

Clicking this link will open up a fresh search screen with the batch number and the region British Isles already in place. Enter nothing else and one has a batch number search of part of the Kirkliston OPR. It contains only information extracted from that source excepting some guesses caused by the clash of an eighteenth century Scottish hand with a twentieth century eye.
2002 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved

This search would find several thousand names and S being so late in the alphabet it may be time consuming to check all the way through page by page but can be profitable. One cannot assume all of the names beginning with A came at the start of the list with the other As Auld may come under O; Carr under K with Kerr.

One method of limiting the number of results is to restrict it to a particular time period. In this case Agnes was baptised in 1756 so a search around that period may produce siblings whose surname was spelled or transcribed differently. Agnes may have been the youngest or the oldest child so the search needs to cover twenty years before and after her birth. The search screen will look like this:

The search produces 2019 results and page nine produces gold dust:
1609. SHETELTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 07 NOV 1762 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1610. GEORGE SHETELTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 11 MAY 1760 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1611. JOHN SHETELTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 17 NOV 1771 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1612. MARGARET SHETLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Birth: 25 JUL 1750 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1613. MARGARET SHETLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Birth: 25 JUL 1750 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

1619. ARCHIBALD SHUTELTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 12 MAY 1776 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1620. GEORGE SHUTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 10 APR 1774 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1621. CATHARINE SHUTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 18 FEB 1770 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1622. JEAN SHUTLTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 24 JUL 1768 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1623. AGNES SHITLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 23 MAY 1756 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1624. ELISABETH SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 15 NOV 1747 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1625. ARCHIBALD SHITLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 05 JUN 1743 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1626. JOHN SHITLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 28 APR 1745 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1627. KATHRINE SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 19 MAY 1754 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

But thats not the end of the story. The search has revealed the next generation Agnes father George. A general search for him produces two results: The first could be the man we are looking for but what is he doing in London? Or perhaps there is another George lurking in the depths of the register. There are many ways of finding relevant batch numbers and one might experiment, it sometimes works. If a series of registers from one parish were being filmed then the numbers may be sequential, try changing the last digit or the prefix since marriages sometimes reached the baptism register and vice versa. In this case the marriage batch produces another spelling (ELISABETH SHUTTLETOWN) but no baptism results with an earlier date. Changing the last digit to 3 produces no results at all but changing it to 2 does:
2410. THOMAS SHITTLETOUN - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 04 SEP 1720 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 2411. ARCHBALD SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 23 AUG 1719 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 2412. GEORGE SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 21 AUG 1715 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 2413. HUGH SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 01 MAY 1693 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 2414. ELIZABETH SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 30 NOV 1716 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 2420. ARCHIBALD SIDLINTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Christening: 05 AUG 1683 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 2421. GEILS SIDLINTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 21 FEB 1686 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

2422. SARA SIDLINTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Christening: 08 MAY 1681 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

Changing the prefix to M also produces hidden treasures.

1362. JULIA SHITTLESON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Marriage: 07 MAR 1712 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1363. SARAH SHITTLETONE - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Marriage: 03 FEB 1700 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1364. ARCHBALD SHITTLETOUN - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Marriage: 21 OCT 1714 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1366. JOHN SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Marriage: 14 DEC 1716 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1367. ARCHBALD SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Marriage: 18 MAR 1718 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1368. ELIZABETH SHITTLETON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Marriage: 03 DEC 1714 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1369. JAMES SHYTLINTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Male Marriage: 19 MAY 1678 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland 1371. JENAT SIDLINTON - International Genealogical Index Gender: Female Marriage: 15 NOV 1682 Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

Searches of this kind can also produce bonuses. 1362. JULIA SHITTLESON turned out to be the same person as 2421. GEILS SIDLINTON and when her marriage was tracked to nearby Linlithgow she had gained yet another name: Look at the reward for finding it. This record reveals that her father was a tenant at Haliston, the old name for Kirkliston and opens the way for a search of the Sasines which is just as well since he was born before the earliest of the Kirkliston OPRs was written. As indicated above Christening and Marriage records carry C and M prefixes; there are others including: A - Adult Christening B Birth D - Death or Burial F - Birth or Christening of first known child (marriage date substitute) N Census S Miscellaneous W - Will or probate record. A great deal of work has been undertaken by many researchers to catalogue Batch Numbers. Sites change with great rapidity and a link which works today may not work tomorrow. There is currently

(October 15th 2005 11:08AM BST) a very useful index for Scottish Parishes at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis /IGIBatchNumbers/CountryScotland.htm#PageTitle but alternatively one can use the index on the Family Search web site which lists the batch numbers for all of its records. The Source Call (film) Number is a link which leads to the catalogue entry which is as far as most researchers seem to go and they only miss the treasure trove by two clicks:
Click 1 Film/fiche search results: Old parochial registers, 1675-1854

It seems that even this page provides an insurmountable barrier to many researchers. Perhaps many recoil in horror at the word Instructions and perhaps it is disdain (How could someone elses notes be useful after all) which produces a fear of the button and it is surely a desire to save the planet by avoiding the use of paper and ink which makes others avoid the offer For a printable version of this record click here. Be reassured; leads first to another screen; your paper and ink are safe. This screen is the main catalogue entry and includes the film notes which explain the contents of the film. In this case:
Click 2 here
View Film Notes

Title

Old parochial registers, 1675-1854 Church of Scotland Parish Church of Kirkliston (Main Author)

Authors

Notes Microfilm of original records (book 667; vols. 1-3.) in the New Register House, Edinburgh. Subjects Scotland, West Lothian, Kirkliston - Church records

FormatManuscript (On Film) Language Publication Physical English Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983 on 2 microfilm reels ; 35 mm.

Film Notes Note Film Location

Item 5 v. 1. Births and Baptisms, 1675-1731 Marriage Proclamations, 1675-1680 FHL BRITISH Film 1066629 v. 1. Marriage Proclamations, 1680-1731 v. 2. Births & Baptisms, 1731-1819 Marriage Proclamations, 1731-1820 Burials, 1817-1820 FHL BRITISH Film 1066630 v. 3. Births & Baptisms, 1820-1854 Marriage Proclamations, 1820-1854 Burials, 1820-1854 Another filming. VAULT BRITISH Film 102984-102985

2002 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

The screen above provides another couple of clues. Look at the top. Previous screens carried the title INTERNATIONAL GENEALOGICAL INDEX this one is entitled FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY CATALOG because the Source Call Number link took one onto the last of the four menu items on the home page:

D: Library Details of all the IGI batch numbers can be found here.
The link at the bottom of the page takes one not to the Family Search Home Page but to the Library Home Page where there are a number of search options. Hover the cursor over a button to reveal what it does like this.

Follow the instructions to find: Follow the link to find four more:
Scotland, Kirkliston Scotland, Kirkliston Scotland, Kirkliston West Lothian, - Census West Lothian, - Church records West Lothian, - Church records -

Place search results

Kirkliston Scotland, West Lothian, Kirkliston

1 matching place. 2002 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved Indexes Scotland, West Lothian, Kirkliston - History

Every one has a tale to tell but focus for the moment on discovering more about Church Records. Item two leads to the fim record above. Click on item three and one is a click away from the grail. The link on this page
Computer printout of Kirkliston, W-Loth Scot

leads to:

Title

Computer printout of Kirkliston, W-Loth., Scot

Stmnt.Resp. extracted for the controlled extraction program and published by the Genealogical Dept. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Notes
Batch Nos. 11667-2, 4, 5 Extracted from microfilm copies of parish registers on film Nos. 1066629-1066630
Subjects Indexes Format Language Publication Physical Film Notes Note Location [Film] FHL BRITISH Scotland, West Lothian, Kirkliston - Church records -

Books/Monographs (On Fiche) English Salt Lake City, Utah : Genealogical Society of Utah, 1991 4 microfiches

Births and christenings, A thru Z 1675-1854 (3 microfiches) Fiche [6901710] Marriages, A thru Z, 1675-1854 (1 microfiche) Fiche [6901711] 2002 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

FHL BRITISH

This explains why there were no results for Batch Number C116673 it simply does not exist and reveals that there are four microfiches relating to this information; three for births and christenings and one for marriages, all of which are available in the societys library in Victoria Terrace. It also provides an index to the film which can be viewed there. The IGI is only an index like any other index - created by people it is unlikely to be perfect. It is, however, probably the best index of the OPR available today. It is NOT the definitive source of information, researchers must ALWAYS check the source record to

verify the information. It is only a tool as good as the workman who uses it....a guide or an indicator of where else one might look and remember an indicator may be pointing in the wrong direction.
Temples and Family History For the millions of people who lived before the Restoration of Christ's Church, Temple ordinances were not available during their lifetime. Even today, millions live and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ or without accepting the gospel he taught. Provision must be made, then, for those who have died without that opportunity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all saving ordinances are to be performed on earth on behalf of the dead. Latter-day Saints stand as proxies for their own ancestors in these ceremonies, including baptisms and sealings for husbands and wives and for parents and children. All Temple work is valid only if it is willingly accepted by each individual prior to the Resurrection. Performing Temple ordinances receives strong emphasis in the Church. Members of the Church are taught that they have a religious obligation to trace their own genealogies and perform Temple ordinances for their ancestors. "The doctrine of the eternal family is one of the most sacred teachings for us. As I learn more about my own ancestors, it increases my sense of identity and deepens my commitment to honor their memory. Perhaps there has never been a time when a sense of family and identity and self-worth has been more important to our world" President Gordon B. Hinckley, President The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To help these members in tracing their genealogies, the Church has microfilmed vital records throughout the world that identify hundreds of millions of persons who have died. The Church provides access to these records through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and in over 3,000 local family history centers. The Church has also developed large databases of genealogical information. Further information about these resources is available on the Internet at http://www.familysearch.org/.

The Family History Centre

Using and locating records at the Family History Centre. More.... Archive Essentials: A new map shows 'routes to roots' in London's Genealogy Village. Sixteenth

Century Baptism: The first surviving and recorded Scottish baptism. Sifting The Jargon: Get to grips with some of the legal jargon relating to land and landownership. The Family History Library is the largest genealogical library in the world. It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and is home to microfilms, microfiche, papers, books and maps. The library is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the "Mormons." The Church has been microfilming genealogical records from all over the world since the late 1930s. The master copies of these records are located in granite mountains near Salt Lake City, to protect them from disasters, natural and otherwise. In addition to the main library, there are approximately 3000 branch libraries located all over the globe which have borrowing rights to most of the materials available at the main library for a small fee covering postage and duplication of the material. These branch libraries are known as Family History Centres and are usually found by consulting with your local telephone directory. These FHCs are manned by unpaid volunteers and the level of knowledge of these volunteers varies immensely. While many avid researchers plan to visit this genealogical Mecca in Salt Lake at least once during their genealogical lifetime, in most cases, it is really not necessary. This article will explain the holdings of the Family History Library and its cataloguing system. Computerized Holdings: International Genealogical Index (IGI) Many of the holdings of the library have been transcribed and indexed by church member volunteers. The largest computerized index of records is the International Genealogical Index (IGI), which is also available on microfiche.

This index contains birth, christening and marriage records from all over the world. These records have been extracted, transcribed and indexed by volunteers.
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These records are by no means complete but are usually complete for individual parishes. The patron enters the name of the ancestor they are looking for and the IGI displays potential matching records of similar sounding names regardless of spelling. If an ancestor is located, a reference is provided for the original record which the patron can then order into the FHC for further research. One point to note is that the original IGI is now quite old. Updates have been made to it and are known as the Addendum. It is important to search both the original index and the Addendum when looking for an individual, in fact, the number of names in the addendum now outweighs the number in the original. This index is also available through the website http://www.familysearch.org although there are less search options available online. Scottish Church Records For anyone with Scottish ancestry, the Scottish Church Records index is indispensable. This index contains parish records (christenings, marriages and burials?) in Scotland up to the 1850s. While the microfiche version of this index only contains Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) records, the computerized version contains records from other religious denominations also. US Social Security Death Index For those with American ancestors, there are two collections that might be of assistance. The US Social Security Death Index is a list of individuals who had a US SSN and that are deceased. It lists the last known location of an individual as well as where the SSN application was made. As this is an index, you will need to consult the original SSN application to find out additional information, such as mothers maiden name, place and date of birth and so on. This index is also available through the website http://www.familysearch.org. US Military Index The second US collection contains names of individuals who perished in the Korea and Vietnam wars, although some names exist in this index prior to this time. Ancestral File

Ancestral File is the original of the shared family trees out there. Patrons to the Family History Centre could submit a family tree in Gedcom format to the
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database. The family tree would then be added in the next release of Ancestral File. While patrons no longer submit their family trees to Ancestral File (it has been superceded by Pedigree Resource File) it is still a useful repository of family trees, many of which have never been resubmitted into Pedigree Resource File. These records are also available through the website http://www.familysearch.org. Pedigree Resource File Pedigree Resource File replaced Ancestral File in the late 90s as the new repository for shared family trees. The problem with Ancestral File was that another person could submit changes to someone elses tree leading to incorrect data overwriting correct data. Pedigree Resource File did not allow that. Instead both trees were added to the database allowing a researcher to make up their own mind as to which was correct. While Pedigree Resource File is available for consultation both on the web and at most FHCs, family trees may only be submitted through the web site http://www.familysearch.org. Vital Records Indexes The Vital Records indexes were produced at a time when the extractions and transcriptions were ahead of their entry into the IGI. Rather than sit on the records for an Marina Garrison Page 3 1/21/05 extended period of time they were released into the public domain to enable researchers to benefit from them. Records exist for the UK, North America, Australia, Mexico, Scandinavia and Europe. These records are available on CD at most FHCs. These records are also available through the website http://www.familysearch.org. Census Records The LDS church has undertaken 3 large transcription and computerization projects for census records with the goal that anyone living in the Englishspeaking world in 1880-1 could be located (with the exclusion of Australia/New Zealand). These census are the 1880 US Federal Census, 1881 National Census for Canada, 1881 National Census for Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). There is a national name index for each census enabling you to find a

person regardless of their location within the country. In addition you can search on age, place of birth and place of residence as well as some other criteria. Once you locate your ancestor, you are able to view a transcription of the actual householder record, listing all members of the household together with their information. You may also navigate to adjacent neighbouring buildings. For each householder record a microfilm number is provided enabling you to order the specific microfilm containing the actual handwritten version of the record. These records are also available through the website http://www.familysearch. org. In addition to these main census records, a limited number of records are
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available for the 1851 British Census. These records were produced as a trial for the 1881 British Census project. Records are available for Devon, Norfolk and Warwick and contain about 1.5 million names. Freedman Bank Records This is one of the only databases of African-American individuals. After the Civil War, the Freedman Bank was established to help freed slaves. This database contains records pertaining to approximately 480,000 individuals who used the bank. Mormon Immigration Index Not just for those with Mormon connections. This database lists 93,000 US immigrant pioneers that travelled with some of the same companies used by the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Records contain letters, diaries etc as well as other genealogical information. Family History Library Catalogue Like any library, the genealogical library in Salt Lake City has a library catalogue listing all its holdings and providing a reference number for each. The reference number can be a film, fiche, dewey decimal number used for locating a book, or a location for some of the other items like maps. For any item that has a film or fiche number, provided that it is not restricted loan, you may order the film or fiche into the local FHC for viewing. Any materials ordered in must be looked at on site. The FHLC may be searched in the following ways:

 Film/fiche number Keyword Surname Locality Author Title Subject Call Number While each search has its uses, the most useful is the Locality or Place search. After you have entered a location the catalogue will show you all materials available through the library for that location. The items will be grouped into various collections such as Church, Census, Military, Tax etc. For a full listing see the Appendix. For each item there is a description, film/fiche/book number and there may be some notes regarding the item.
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The trick to using the locality index, is to ensure that you review the records at each administrative level. For example, Stepney in East London is part of Middlesex which is part of England. Records kept at the Stepney level might include church records and local histories, records at the Middlesex level might include census records, genealogies and histories, records at the England level might include maps and gazetteers, as well as records kept at the national level. What kinds of records does the library have? For those of you that think an American library wont have records for small English places, think again. For example, if I look up Stepney, Middlesex in the FHLC, there are cemetery, church, poorhouse, school, taxation and other records available. If I were interested in marriage records for St.Dunstans church, I would find these under: Church Records. There are two items also referring to St Dunstan as well as one that refers to St Dunston. By selecting the notes for each I see that the marriage records come on 5 different microfilms. In this particular case only one film has notes explaining the years it contains, so I would have to view each film. However, in many instances specific years are listed to enable you to order the exact film containing the record you are looking for. Church Records Indexes. I would then note that there are 64 microfiche

available. By selecting the notes, I would see that the marriage records from 15681864 were on a collection of 29 microfiches with a reference number of 6901979 (Note: All 7-digit reference numbers starting with a 6, refer to fiche. All other numbers refer to films). I could then order this set of fiche into my FHC if they did not already have it. Click here for a full FHLC listing categories By Marina Garrison About the Author As a lecturer and writer, Marina Garrison's specialty is the integration of genealogy and technology. She serves as Assistant Family History Center Director for the Kelowna, British Columbia Family History Center and is also responsible for staff training. Her speaking experiences include 5 regional conferences and local genealogical groups throughout British Columbia. You can e-mail Marina at genealogy@hamersleyfamily.com or visit www.hamersleyfamily.com