Indexing Business names

Merritt Hart Davis

The US - City and Business Directory batch that I am reviewing was indexed for the business names along with names of people, but I supposed that only the people's names were to be indexed. Are business names to be indexed or only the names of people? Thanks.

KevinRobinson

Hi @Merritt Hart Davis ,

Thank you for reaching out for advice on this matter. I've just reviewed a batch and read all the project instructions that go along side this.

You are to index the names of both employers and employees, but this is only when the employer / business has a name within the business. The guidance says "When indexing business names, index the names of individuals only", so if a business is called "John Smith Grocery", you would index a record for John Smith, but if the business is called "Bargain Grocers" you would not. Apart from that you index all the employees within the business.

For a real life example I have :-

Koleman James, clk Kline & Rosenberg, rms 515 Jefferson

Here you should index 3 names :

Koleman, James

Kline

Rosenberg

I hope this helps with your reviewing. Many thanks for reviewing this data, it will help many people in their search for ancestors.

Allison Lathrop

Thank myou for your question, Merritt. The following exolation from the Project Instructions will answer your question:

• Index each unique name. Some names may be duplicated. When names are exact duplicates, index only the first instance of the name listed. Skip the other exact duplicates and then index the next unique name. Unique names include names with different middle initials, spouses listed with the individual, and different name spellings. Do not index names in full-page advertisements.
• Index names of employers and employees. When indexing business names, index the names of individuals only. For example, "The Ad Book" would not be indexed, but "Barner Kehlenbeck Wines and Liquors" should be indexed. In this case, you would create 2 entries: one for Barner (surname) and another for Kehlenbeck (surname). Do not index occupations or terms such as "banker," "policeman," "M.D.," or similar terms.