Another Locked Record Question

Laurie Filstrup

I am trying to view a 1909 marriage record from Indianapolis, IN. The catalog record states that the image is available online. When I click on the link and search for my first cousin, 2x removed's marriage record, I am told that the image is not available. I then went to the Indiana State Library which used to have a search available to get basic marriage information. Their search page now is the FamilySearch search page for Indiana Marriages, which leads me into the same loop: the image is not available.

So with the Family History Centers unavailable due to Covid and the FHL not available except in Salt Lake City (a long way from my home), the locked record on FamilySearch, and the locked record result at the Indiana State Library -- what is one to do?

Do I write a "pretty please" letter to FHL and ask some kind volunteer to send me a copy of the record?

Or do I just cite that FamilySearch has refused to make the image freely available?

Suggestion: if you are going to lock records like this for long-dead ancestors--is there some VALID reason why you cannot state in the CATALOG record that you have made the images unavailable??????? That way people like me won't, in good faith, waste time trying to find the impossible.

Just sign me FRUSTRATED. Mostly because said first cousin, twice removed is said in Indiana records to have married in March 1909, but in Kansas newspapers (where her husband resided) as being married in November 1909. They had no children so I can't rally the family troops to find this information. AND the marriage record would solve the issue with dates for marriage license and wedding dates.

genthusiast

I can sense your frustration. May I suggest taking advantage of FamilySearch Lookup Service?

Here is a document to help you through that process:

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/can-i-request-photocopies-of-records

I hope this helps without getting into discussion about Catalog.

If you want to supply the film #/DGS # that you see in the Catalog - you *might* be able to find the record image through - Search> Images.

For example:

https://www.familysearch.org/records/images/image-details?page=1&place=4107836&lifeEvent=102860&rmsId=TH-7770-101783-4553-46&imageIndex=0

or

https://www.familysearch.org/records/images/image-details?page=1&place=4107836&lifeEvent=102860&rmsId=TH-909-71015-74344-62&imageIndex=0

collections *might* help?

A van Helsdingen

What is the film number and what's the message you're seeing?

The message "Image unavailable at this time" (or similiar) often indicates an IT issue.

If you see a message telling you to visit a FHC, Affiliate Library and/or partner site to view the records, it means the record owner (likely to be the Indiana State Library) has made a contract with FS preventing them from making the records accessible from home.