Monday, January 21, 2008

Marriage Indexing: Top 9 Questions for Marriage Indexers

Q. When do you enter township?
When it is the ONLY thing you have for location, enter township name followed by “Twp”.

Q. Do we enter Co. for county or the word county?
No. Forget you even know the word or the abbreviation while indexing!

Q. Do we enter only the given name and an initial if a middle name is also given?
We want the MOST COMPLETE name on the document so if a middle name is included, enter it ENTIRELY – not just the initial.

Q. How do we treat Fort or Ft, St or Saint, and Mt or Mount as part of a place name?
Use FORT spelled out, ST abbreviated, and MOUNT spelled out.

Q. How do we check for the correct spelling of a place name?
Use the lookup drop down arrow that will show a list of places from which to choose. Not every location is included but many are, especially places in Indiana.

Q. Should I use the auto-fill feature or should I turn it off?
Since auto-fill remembers the last thing typed, Marion Indianapolis Indiana will result if the last location typed was Indianapolis Indiana. You must pay close attention or “Walter J” will result instead of “W” when “Walter J” was your prior entry. You do have the option of turning it off if you don’t want to watch the screen to see what you are typing.

Q. Should I add “Indiana” after the name of a city when I know it is in Indiana?
No. Only add Indiana if it is indicated on the document. If it says “Avon, Ind.” then type “Avon Indiana". If it says only “Avon” then DO NOT ADD Indiana.

Q. What do I do if I can’t read the entire word?
Type as much as you can read and then substitute “?” for one unreadable letter or “*” for several letters unreadable letters.

Q. What do I enter for the number of marriages?
Enter the number of PRIOR MARRIAGES exactly as entered on the document – “once” if it says once, “three” if it says three, or “2” if it says 2. If it says nothing, SKIP that field. DO NOT ENTER “0”.

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