Is assumed maiden name correct?
https://www.familysearch.org/indexing/batch/14aa8ad1-f9de-4468-8650-2c9fd5a98f28
I am reviewing this batch. Is the indexer correct to assume that the surname on the third line of the Parents box is the mother's maiden name?
For the first record, is the child Elizabeth Cunningham and the parents William Cunningham and Elizabeth Quin Cunningham? Or is the child Elizabeth Quin, with the parents William Quin and Elizabeth Cunningham Quin?
Answers
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I think the indexer is wrong. It appears that the fathers name is William Quin and the mother is Elizabeth Cunningham Quin. That seems to be the pattern on this image for all of the parents.
But, the child shouldn't have any surname indexed per most of the examples. (Except this is that crazy project that has the example in the field help showing a family surname indexed for the child...)
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Melissa, thank you for your response. I was uncomfortable with the indexer's entry. Thank you also for the head's up on no surname for the child.
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Melissa is correct in saying that the family surname is Quin, making the father William Quin and the mother is Elizabeth Cunningham Quin. However, according to the Field Help for Given Names, we are instructed as follows:
If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, type it in this field.
Also, as the General Indexing Guidelines, under Surnames, bullet point 1 instructs us as follows:
Do not assume the surname of an individual based on the surname of someone else, such as a parent or a spouse, unless directed otherwise in the project instructions.
In this batch the best way to index the mother's name would be:
Mother's Given Names: Eliz Cunningham
Mother's Surname: Quin
For the Child's Surname, we would follow the example in the Child's Surname Field Help and index the same surname as the parents.
Child's Surname: Quin
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I think "they" really need to decide on this project what they want - the two examples in the project instructions do not index the child's surname. Then they have that caveat about indexing the surname for the parents if there is a surname for the child. To make matters worse, the field help example is incongruent with the project instructions, but, the wording follows the general indexing guidelines. (But, we've been talking about this since the project was in its' infancy and nothing has changed).
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