What is a Record "Index"?

I have chosen to illustrate "indexes" using British and Australian examples, which in reality are strongly related.  This article is like "Genealogy Research 101".

A Branch of History Study
Talking about "indexes" leads to a few other terms; like "corroborating evidence". The "speak" of Family History research has been inherited from the mainstream historical studies world, because family research "buys into" this world. Family history is a branch on a tree in a forest which includes the History of Colonisation in Western Australia; The History of the World Wars; the History of Australia; and indeed the History of the World. Family History is a "branch" of history which is rather cheeky and impatient, in that: "whatever-it-wants" gets put on the internet! Being fresh on the internet gives the data the appearance of being 'new'.

The Tools of Survival
The tools of survival in the professional, history-research forest become the tools of Family History research, and it can be a confronting experience to enter the everyday world of history professors, librarians and archivists: "What do they mean by a source citation?" Expect a bit of a 'learning curve', and then after a while it will all become second nature. Acknowledge history's major importance to civilisation, and you will begin to give it the respect that it deserves.  Look at this learning activity as an enlightening experience. You learn interesting facts of history as you proceed. One day you will look back and think: "I can't believe I started out wondering what an index was!"

You are opening a door to a major diversification of your knowledge. Don't let your hands drop down in frustration. Adopt a "bring it on" approach. It is similar to confronting the medical world. Just because first-aid is a part of the discipline of medicine, we seldom say: "It's too cerebral". While carving out only a small foothold in the 'history world' we should endeavour to adopt as much 'best practice' as we can.  

Gratitude for the Preservation of Archives
The data in most cases has been in storage and use for a long time. Professional archivists in some cases have spent a lot of their life helping preserve it; and make it accessible.  It is a privilege to have access to someone's careful work. Some archives, unfortunately, were burned and destroyed by rebels (Irish Civil War); some by bombing in WW2; and others by a misguided government (Ireland).   

The Chapter House, 
Home to a Copy of the Magna Carta,

Think of the importance of the Magna Carta (see inset) and the fact that copies have been preserved. These are precious from the point of view of the origin of democracy. At some date in our journey we need to grow in stature to show great respect for the the discipline of History and the importance of the Archive.  

Sure, we are not writing a thesis but we are working alongside people all over the world who have devoted their whole life to the study of history. They use our data; we use theirs. We should be able to look back at some time in our journey and pinpoint when we decided to respect the 'archivist's art', and the custom of citing our sources, even though it is "library speak".
   

Source-citation conventions used by archivists establish a solid foundation for our own research endeavour; as well as saving you time when you want to check the validity of the source, in the face of competing evidence.The source citation "convention" you will encounter is based on citation of books, journals and papers; so it has been adapted for the internet. This means that instead of the date you looked at a book or paper, you have to put the date you accessed something on the internet.

“There is no truth without proof.” Successful genealogists abide by this - See more at: http://www.familytreeuniversity.com/source-documentation-101-how-to-cite-genealogy-sources#sthash.G0Lmv4J2.dpufYou are going to have to confront some library "speak". So, harden up! 

Indexes

The family history part of the forest is startlingly 'awash' with 'indexes'. You cannot do any significant research without mastering indexes! You obviously already understand the web. A Birth, Death or Marriage ("BDM") ‘index’ is similar to having a simple list of web addresses, without having an image of each web page. Understanding indexes is essential for family lineage research. Indexes contain pointers to items in "Collections". An art gallery for example can have collections, like the "Colonial Exhibition" in the Western Australian, Public Art Gallery, in Northbridge, Perth. A pamphlet offering a guide to the exhibition is a rough index to a "Collection".

Indexes Mistakenly Called Records
Unfortunately the 'waters are muddied' by some commercial websites and also genealogists calling indexes 'records', because of their contemporary nature ('longevity'). In reality, they are an accessory to records (i.e.: the front door); to facilitate the use of real records. Calling them "records" improperly elevates their status. Strictly speaking, records are current, and archives are former records.

The indexes lack sufficient information (points of evidence) to qualify them as a "record" of an event; as they can easily be confused with another 'credible' index. More importantly the names of the witnesses are not provided in an index, to sufficiently establish the truth of the matter. The actual certificate (or digital image), on the other hand, provides the personal witness of both the informant and the registrar. Two witnesses are required by most laws. This is true evidence.This constitutes an "historical record". An index is really just an allegation that needs to be proved.

What can we do about his muddying of the waters? Not much. But at least you know. One person at a time.

Some websites deliberately 'muddy the waters' with their language used, to suggest what they have is better than it really is!  "We have 300, 000 historical records".  "No you don't; you have 300, 000 indexes!"
FindMyPast states the truth of the matter:

"Birth, marriage and death certificates will give you lots of useful extra information to help you piece together your family tree. They can also prove that the birth, marriage or death record [read: index item] you've found at findmypast.co.uk is indeed that of your ancestor, rather than of another person with the same name." (emphasis added)

Convinced about the superiority of certificate images over indexes? One of the things you will do over and over in your research is ask the question: "Does this site offer just indexes, or do they have images as well?" And: "Do they offer me a complete view of the index?".

Collections

The term "Collection" can include microfiche, digital images, textual databases, books, drawings, newspapers, maps, sheet music, manuscripts, photographs, audio, and video; oral history recordings; grouped together because of some common theme. 

An "item" might be a single painting in a painting exhibition. An index has many 'index lines'; or 'items'. In BDM indexes each line is linked to an image; for example of a birth record in a birth-records Collection.  

But although the 'index' is on the web, the image from a Collection is not always available on the internet! Sometimes you have to resort to a 'bricks and mortar' source for the image. And there are complicated procedures for getting the image.

A Bricks and Mortar Location

For example, a person born more than 30 years ago in England or Wales is likely found in an index to a collection named "Births, England and Wales from 1837 to 1983". The original 'hard copy' version of the index was created by the British General Records Office (GRO); located in Southport, Merseyside. The index is now on the internet but, curiously, not on the GRO's own website. 

A working knowledge of this index is a basic 'building-block' for research. John Constable, the English romantic painter, for example, will not appear in this index, because he was born in March 1837 ( the index starts from September 1837!).

The General Records Office, Southport

History of the GRO Online Version
The GRO index is published on the web by FreeBMD (a charity). Volunteers transcribed the index 'line by line' into a digital version; "warts and all". It is incomplete; and the 'original' collection is of course still growing -- due to population growth. You can check the coverage for the index, as shown for the period: 1930 to 1949.

It is also published by Ancestry and FindMyPast, but the date range is only til 1915, not 1949. 

There is also FreeCEN (having Census data) and FreeREG (having Parish Registers). Before you expect too much, there is a "coverage" or statistics page for each: for example the actual coverage of each census, which you should examine before conducting any search.

Organisation of the FreeBDM Index
The FreeBMD index, mentioned above, comprises indexes organised by quarters (four quarters in a year). Local Registry Offices create records (images of 'certificates') and send them to the GRO where an index is created for each certificate. Indexes exist for each quarter of a year for each type of event - for example: Births, quarter ending March, 1880. But only til 1984, when the quarters system was dropped.

It should be noted that the range of information in the records held in the GRO indexes has changed over the years. The State Library of Queensland has an excellent explanation here. The following is an extract.

• Birth Indexes (Sep 1837 to Jun 1911): Surname, Given Name/s, Registration District, Volume and Page
• Birth Indexes (Sep 1911 to Dec 2001): Surname, Given Name/s, Mother’s Maiden Surname, Registration District, Volume and Page
• Marriage Indexes (Sep 1837 to Dec 1911): Surname, Given Name/s, Registration District, Volume and Page (Does not provide the details of the spouse)
• Marriage Indexes (Mar 1912 to Dec 2001): Surname, Given Name/s, Surname of Spouse, Registration District, Volume and Page
• Death Indexes (Sep 1837 to Mar 1866): Surname, Given Name/s, Registration District, Volume and Page
• Death Indexes (Jun 1866 to Dec 2001): Surname, Given Name/s, Age, Registration District, Volume and Page

Examples:
1. Birth Entry: Arthur Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister 1937-1940 (1869, June quarter):

Name	District	Volume	Page
CHAMBERLAIN
--- Arthur Neville	King’s N.	6c	407

2. Death Entry: Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes novels (1930, December quarter):

Name	Age	District	Volume	Page
DOYLE
--- Arthur C.	71	Uckfield	2b	135

Tricky Relationship between Transcriptions and Certificates 
Now that you have had an introduction to Indexes and Records, some more precise terms are given below. Indexes consist of transcriptions. Also, when owners of online indexes are describing indexes they will mention images; but they usually mean images of the original indexes. Tricky heh?

Still unsure? The relationship between indexes and certificates is also explained by Ancestry.co.uk 

"Since the original birth, marriage and death registers [of GRO] are not open to the public, getting access to the information on one of these certificates is done by first searching the national birth, marriage and death indexes [e.g.: on Ancestry]...The indexes for the three events [BDM] are each divided into quarterly volumes, with the names for each quarter listed alphabetically. Once an entry in one of the indexes is found, you are then able to use that information to order a copy of a death, marriage or birth certificate [i.e. digital image] from the GRO..."

Lady Randolph Churchill,
Churchill's mother

Example Search of FreeBMD Index
Searching the index is tricky. It is recommended that you read the search help first, as an effective search is not particularly intuitive.

For example, the parents of newborns, like Lady Jennie Churchill in the 20th century, the mother of Winston Churchill, had 30 days to register the birth. 

So if a parent delayed the registration, a child born in March might be found in the April-June (next) quarter instead.  They might also fib about the date because they exceeded the 30 day limit. Indeed, Winston Churchill, twice Prime Minister of Britain, is listed as born in December 1874, but he was actually born on the 30 November. It is worth noting, just for experience, that his father had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill by the time Winston was born. A search under this latter surname produced no match, which illustrates the need for flexibility when doing searches in FreeBMD.

Also, frustratingly, "Winston Churchill" did not produce any matches either; only "Churchill", which confirms the researcher's adage when it comes to composing search terms: "Less is more". Try it out, on FreeBDM! It is quite astounding.  Also, a person may have more than one entry in FreeBMD Index (see below). Because, there was more than one transcription; and sometimes, often enough to cause grief, they are different!  Whenever you are searching online, it pays to remember "less is more" as a "Plan B".
.

The GRO Index number 3a / 695 is a combination of a volume and page number (see heading in graphic highlighted in pink). It is not necessarily unique for one person's BDM event. For example, in the case of marriages, there may be three marriages per page! 

The Registration District in this example is Woodstock. It is important to understand that a Registration District is not the same as the town of the same name. The main registration office is likely to be within the town with the same name of the Registration District, but the area covered by the Registration District will be much larger than the town and may even cross county boundaries. Information on the current and historic districts for England and Wales, including dates of creation, changes and abolition, can be found on the GENUKI website. 

View Image of Index Item

Icon for View Image

Oops! There may be an error in the 'transcription' process to FreeBMD, so you should check the FreeBMD image of the index itself. Check the original image of the index for accuracy; and also get the image of the original certificate; which will provide a truck load of  evidence to help you verify you have the right person. As with any index entry, it is easy to jump to a conclusion you have found the right person on FreeBMD. You should apply the 'rules of evidence' to the data (subject of another post). This is the world of historical research. Remember? Play by the rules of the experts. "There is no truth without proof"(Familytreeuniversity.com)

“There is no truth without proof.

 
Obtaining a Certificate
Here's the 'coup de grace': if you want a copy of the image of the original General Registry Office record (not the index; the 'certificate'), traditionally, you got it from the GRO HQ in Southport; using the index "volume / page" combination. You would send them a letter. 

Now, for England and Wales, you still use the the index "volume / page" combination, but an order can be placed online at the GRO website; and the certificate posted to you! You can also order by email: certificate.services@ips.gsi.gov.uk. You still go to a "bricks and mortar" source for the certificate, but electronically! Remember, you cannot see indexes here!

FreeBMD comments: 

"You should be aware that there are a number of websites that offer to supply certificates, however, what they do is get the certificate from the GRO for a premium over the GRO cost. Unless they offer some added value that you require there is no benefit in using such services." ("Ordering Certificates"; www.freebmd.org.uk/Certificates.html)

With regard to getting certificates, FindMyPast in the explanation of its 1837-2006 collection, from FreeBMD UK, adds that:

"The birth, marriage and death records from 1984 onwards [that is coming closer to now] were recorded in a [digital] computer database only [not a paper one]; so there is no original image for records [meaning certificates] post-1984" (parenthesis added).

An alternative source is a Local Record Office (see "Alternative..", below).

The Churchill Example
Continuing with the Winston Churchill example, co-incidentally the GRO provides a copy of the Winston Churchill certificate on its website, here! Here you find that Woodstock was in the County of Oxford; and Winston's father was the MP for Woodstock. Scroll down the cited PDF document and you will find further information about the index. You should check current ordering information on the GRO Website. There is a form to complete for ordering purposes.

If you learn nothing else from this article: remember this: the actual certificate, captured digitally as a record "image", not an index image, contains a lot more information than shown in the index; like place of birth; name of County; father and mother's first names; the mother's maiden name; the father's occupation; and the description and place of residence of the informant (often a parent). This range of detail changed over the years.

Information shown on a 1912 Marriage Certificate is shown here 

Alternative Source for Certicates
Local record offices in England and Wales also have a copy of the original certificate. Barbara Dixon comments:

"So - by all means apply to the local office for your births and deaths but do not apply to them for a marriage certificate unless you can tell them which church to look at."

"Every register...has its OWN index....While the local office will need to know the year and quarter of an event to look for it, the GRO reference is totally useless to the local registrar so don't bother to send it. "

"You need to know the current address of the Register Office which will hold the relevant registers. Use the website http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/RegOffice/
which is a superb site. It gives all the names previously and currently in use for registration districts." ( Dixons Clara Co Uk.; emphasis added)

The birth registrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Southern Ireland are different from those of England and Wales; and are not covered by Dixons Clara Co Uk.'s commentary cited above (see The National Archives ("TNA")'s "Collections on a Map" for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Southern Ireland; refer below)

Online Search of the Index
Here's the thing: FindMyPast now offers indexes for births from 1837-2006; and offers a pay-as-you-go arrangement for viewing the images of indexes. Be aware, however, of where the data comes from (FreeBMD UK), and of its limitations (refer above). 

About the firstname in a birth index. The civil registration law allows that within 12 months, a  name could be changed:

"...by adding a name, taking one out, altering the order, changing them totally [or] changing the spelling. I suspect that where it is a problem in finding an ancestor, one reason is that the child was registered in one name, baptised in another but the registration not brought up to date. Where a name has been altered by baptism or change of name and added to the register, the indexes should have been updated to show the new name. " (dixons.clara.co.uk)

Your Attitude Influences Competence

Ancestry Collection

Ah ha! The small print! At this stage you are probably thinking: "This is a minefield". But hang on! This is one of the trickiest bits to navigate. After this, it will get easier, because you will have steeled yourself to remember this is not a "Mickey Mouse" world. This is the world of history research. You will have a more realistic attitude. You will no longer have naive expectations. This is the stuff of authentic research. Family history websites are following the conventions of history-research when they organise and present their data in "Collections", and provide a statement of background for the data (see inset).  

To be sure, when you do research you do step into a complex world. This is the "work place" of famous historians and researchers within the nation and within the world. You now expect to have to be 'switched on'. Other researchers will want to verify your work. But it gets easier as you persist. It's like learning to ride a bike.

You may be an 'amateur' but the rules of the game apply as much to you as they do to experts. And you have more to lose. Get it wrong and you will be researching the wrong tree: getting certificates for the wrong people, contacting the wrong relatives, misleading your own family, visiting the wrong ancestral home, and paying homage to the wrong ancestors. Your popularity will sink to ground zero. Need I say more?

There is a great sense of pride, satisfaction and assurance that comes from stitching up your findings from several angles (sources).


Relevance of the Profile of an Index
Authentic researchers always examine the 'profile' of an index, just like checking someone's profile on FaceBook, except that you are now looking with very critical eyes; because otherwise you may be "looking and looking" for an image that is not there. It may have "escaped", for the want of a better term; escaped into the realm of privacy. You are not allowed to see it yet because the information may be 'sensitive' (illegitimate children, etc)! Pay a visit to the "Help" page for the index, for info like 'how to make a search', or "coverage", before you waste a lot of time!

National Archives, Collections on a Map

The National Archives Map is handy. Check it out! Birth, marriage and death certificates are not kept at 'The National Archives' of the UK, and cannot be viewed or ordered there. But the TNA does have pointers to the UK General Register Offices for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and additional resources. 

Hang on! Almost there! Do you want to know about free searches?

Exposure of an 'Index'
Some commercial service providers and BDM Registry offices only show you part of the index they hold! That's right! They are incorrigible! To view the full index and actual image on Ancestry.co.uk, for example, you need a membership. The search for "James Turton" at right shows the search-terms of a free search in Ancestry, on the English records. So know what your short cut is delivering. In the Australian website make sure you deselect the default option: "Australia only". The results are below.

In this case (free search), Ancestry withholds the mother's name; date and city included in the index, but politely provides the father's name.  Thank you!

In Australia, often a government authority or service like a State Library will offer you the full index, free; whereas the the fee-for-service providers don't! There is an exception. The Victorian (Victoria, Australia) index online offers only a free ‘snippet’ to guide you. They charge just for viewing indexes! You can pay for a bigger view online in this case, but it is view-and-see, 'trial and error', and there is a small fee for each try!  

The South Australian index online, on the other hand, is more generous.  Fortunately,  the fee for certificates (image) behind the “pioneer” indexes in Australia (e.g.: Western Australia,  Queensland) is reduced, as the event date is beyond a 'privacy' period of 50-100 years. All Australian State indexes (not the images) are also freely accessible at the Western Australian, Alexander State Public Library and other State libraries. 

Transcription services operate for some Registries: for example S.A. and N.S.W. at a lower cost (check the online site for the state registry office).

Ordering Variations
An image from a 'bricks and mortar' location may be:

• ordered online, and sent to you in the post, or sent as a digital version (e.g.: Queensland Government); or

• ordered directly from the office of the Archive, by email.

Principle of Multiple Sources
It is challenging to remember 'in the heat of the chase' that just because a record index is on a pay-for-service website, does not mean it is not available elsewhere. Most times your best friends are search engines, like Google. Type in "where do you find...?" Another valuable tool to understand the geographical and contextual nature (history) of specific archives is Wikipedia. Yes, "hello" old friend. The best of the best search engine, however, is at MyHeritage.

To explain the availability point further, the image may also be available 'on the web' from a free, privately owned service, like FamilySearch Family Tree. Australian newspaper excerpts are available from Ancestry subject to a subscription, but also for free at Australian Trove. Similarly, British Newspapers are available from Ancestry and another commercial site "The British Newspaper Archive", but you can view them for  free via the Western Australian State Library Service! You will need a free membership.

A few types of providers of indexes are as follows:

• online archive of a STATE or province, government, civil registry office, e.g.: the QLD government;

• fully searchable, online, LOCAL civil and parish records, such as the City of Sheffield Archives: 
• archive of church REGION or geographical area, such as an Archdeaconry, donated to a government sponsored project like GENUKI or The University of York, Borthwick Institute, which has an index of Wills from the Archbishops' registers 1316-1822: which indexes are printed in the Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series, vol.93;

• a PRIVATELY-OWNED eclectic archive, such as those owned by Genealogical Societies, available on CDROM;

• online eclectic archive of a commercial, GENEALOGICAL  RESEARCH SERVICE; or

•  not-for-profit CHARITY and/or PUBLISHING service, like FreeBMD; publishing large geographical-area based data, obtained from someone else, like a government civil registry; in this case the GRO.

Non-indexed Archives

Un-indexed, offline parish records are of course found in buildings all over the world. There are also un-indexed archives online, which can be searched by 'trial-and-error', or importantly, by 'browsing', using a viewer; like the large collections of FamilySearch Family Tree. 

There. You've done it. You have an overview of indexes! Congratulations! Now go to the next post.

What is the Date-Range for Australian Images on Ancestry.com?

^{What is the significance of the "Date Range" of a Collection?}

No Record

Ancestry.co.uk is very popular, so it is logical to explain the principle of the 'time span' of record libraries, using it's collection of records. The point to be made is that there will be times when the vital event of your ancestor, like birth, death or marriage, is closer in time than the end-date of the collection offered by service providers, like Ancestry.com.au. This is because of privacy rules in favour of the living. If you don't check the time span first you may be searching for a record which does not appear! 

Bricks and Mortar Source

The final analysis may be that you have to apply to the Birth, Death and Marriage (“BDM”) Registry office for the district in which the event took place. This is a resort to a bricks and mortar site which then provides the image. Cheer up though. A search may still be possible online, through the Registry's website. You may just have to prove your family relationship.

Finding Date Range of Collections

Sometimes service providers mislead about the date-range of services shown on their Home pages. Oh, yeah. They say you have access to birth records as late as 1985 (e.g.: one of the big three service providers; not Ancestry, not FamilySearch); but when it comes down to it, you find some small print that says "We do not have images for this period as yet, due to privacy laws". The privacy buffer can vary from 30 years to a hundred years. So friend, go directly to their list of collections; their "backend" databases, and find out!.

Handball of Collections

To complicate matters, it is possible that the bricks and mortar Registry Office has passed its indexes to another body! For example, the Government of South Australia has passed its indexes to the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. (indexes online) and the SA State Library (on CDROM). Speaking generally now, about this type of scenario, a copy of the original certificate or "image", often is sourced online from the Registry office; sometimes by other means; and the delivery made electronically, or by post.

What's the difference between an index and an image? Go here.

Whats worse, some bodies have received custody of parish records located outside a 'workable' geographical area around their office, and thay have a less than helpful approach to providing access to their indexes online. If you don't live in the  area, they have made it very "simple": go to FindMyPast, and pay for a look. But GENUKI may have them online, FREE.  

GENUKI means Genealogy in the UK and Ireland (GEN-UK-I). UK includes England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, including Northern Ireland.  It is a non-commercial service, maintained by a charitable trust and a group of volunteers. For research in the UK, check GENUKI first to see where the parish records are, because you might otherwise miss a freebie.

Combat Commercialism

One of your defenses against commercialism in the family history market place is the knowledge that what commercial sites want you to pay for might be free somewhere else! Take FreeBDM for example. Another charitable Trust. Again, check the coverage first, as it has limitations.

Ancestry Collections

Filters on Collections

Libraries of records are called "collections" (see left). You can identify the name and date-range of Ancestry's Australian BDM “Collections” through the Card Catalogue in Ancestry.com.au. In the main menu on the Home page of the Ancestry, Australian site select: "Search">>Card Catalogue. This will show the name and date-range of the Collections available for Australia.

Set the filter to English and you will see the Collections for England, as shown here. 

You can find the list of collections for other sites, like FamilySearch Tree, by digging around. In FamilySearch go to "Search>>Records>>(bottom left) 'Browse By Location' " (parenthesis added).

Advantages and Disadvantages
A search on a particular Collection will allow you to focus on your target; but realise that you give up some utilities you may not have appreciated. Ancestry automatically searches all spelling variations and phonetic versions unless told not to. There are tools, however, you can use to do the same thing, like use an asterisk (*) in the search terms.

The list of Collections enables a researcher to focus on some lesser known collections to supplement principal data already searched; or vice versa, to predict where it may be found in the main Collections. 

Examples of other Collections

• The Ancestry collection: “Australian Electoral Rolls” 1903-1980 (not including South Australia), and the Australian Postal Directories for towns can offer 'indicative' information, narrowing the parameters for fruitful searches on the BDM records;
• H. Wise & Co. ("Wise Directories") provided Business and Trade Directories and Alphabetical Indexes in the colonies; Wise's directories in New Zealand began, for postal reasons, in 1872-73 to 1955, published by H. Wise & Co., Princes Street, Dunedin and covered all New Zealand. 
• Naturalisations in Australian States for foreign nationalities: copies held by QLD State Library ("Naturalisation" only required for non-British subjects, until 1949. Then Brits required registration as an Australian citizen after one year's residence in Australia as an immigrant);
• Most cemeteries are willing to search their ‘burial’ database for your relative and give you ‘age at death’ and ‘birth place’ data off their screen. A Western Australian Cemetery charges $5 for a paper copy of the Burial Record. They are usually well worth your investment. But first do a search on the Perth Metropolitan Cemeteries Index online, and in old newspapers, to determine the likely death date. The burial record includes place of death. Be prepared. You will be surprised how many other people with the exact, same name died within a few years! You would not be the first person to jump to a conclusion. A headstone could verify!.