hope i did right - 9 pages (4 on both sides) without header and dates
indexing a page with perhaps 80-90 single space names and no header for dates [United States—Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916–1939 [Part J][M3W3-YM6]]. I re-read all the instructions given and this circumstance was not given. I also looked at plus 4 and minus 4 pages in front and back which were the same type of record (i.e. tantalizing many names on every page BUT no header/dates). The program wouldn't let me go farther than 4 pages either way and gave warning that pages beyond that were "forbidden."
I Read through the names on my page and found a couple where it said they were in the hospital "since X-X- 1919". Not having any other way of resolving this, my best judgement was to assume that all the records were from that year and I extracted all of them using <blank> on the month and day fields but putting "1919" on all of the names.
If someone with more authority than I can go back further than 4 records to find the real date, perhaps they also have the where-with-all to edit what I've done with their updates. (I don't know what the rationale could be to prevent us from looking back or forward more than 4 pages). At least I will have done most of the hard typing.
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hi Robert. Evidently you have already submitted that batch. Sharing the Batch Information generally doesn’t allow access to a batch once it’s been submitted. Also, for that project you should have been able to look at 5 (not just 4) reference images before and after your batch image. I’m not sure you were only able to see 4. Nonetheless, seeing those extra images wouldn’t guarantee that you’d have found a year for that that roll or roster.
I would have used the full date (not just the year) but only for the soldiers with a date, and blanked all Military Date Fields for all the rest. Suppose that those sick soldiers had been in hospital since prior to a year boundary. That 1919 date might be “correct,” but assigning it to all the soldiers is not supported by the instructions IMO. Researchers seeing the image may draw the same conclusion you did, but as Indexers, we need to index what the instructions allow.
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I just wrote a more full explanation of the problem - had to edit it and POOF the whole thing disappeared.
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Hi Robert.
Thanks for your service. You make a good point on the year boundary. I'm certainly not the last word on these projects. Those were my opinions based on my interpretation of the instructions and documents that I've defended as best I can. Also, to be fair, not everyone who searches (i.e. the Researchers) will (easily) be able to see the images, and maybe not even the indexes, to draw their own conclusions. Note the following from the What to Remember About This Project:
- The completed index and images may have restrictions
But I don't consider those issues when Indexing or Reviewing. I do the work in gratitude for the help Family Search gave me, and for those folks who do gain access to the images and indexes by whatever means necessary (e.g. even behind a paywall). Also, I particularly enjoy doing military projects.
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