How do I correctly index the surnames here?

Ken_Cluff

The entire batch of baptism records for "UK, England, Diocese of Blackburn—Church of England Parish Registers, 1813–2021 [Part D][M3VW-NSH]" has surnames as shown in the image. I'm not sure how to index the surname for the mother.

Screen Shot 2022-01-07 at 7.04.49 AM.png

Melissa S Himes

You should index the maiden name followed by the surname. However, since m.n. has only been written on some of them, those are the only ones where I would index the maiden name and then the married name, i.e., Holden Stott. I am certain others will disagree and you can index the others the same i.e., Hargreaves Howorth. I pretty much stick to the rules exactly as they are written and that would mean not to assume a surname from others mentioned on the document.

When you click on the fields, a purple question mark appears. Click on that and it will provide the further instructions that slotbuddy mentioned above.

Also, on this particular project, you don't index a surname for the child. Notice on the example, they do not index Brown as the surname. This is because the field help for the child surname says not to assume a surname from others mentioned in the document.

Interestingly, the field help for the father's surname is different. Here if there is a surname for the child, but, not for the parents, then you may index the child's surname for both parents.

All projects have their own instructions and field helps. So, it is important to mention that this is not the same for other projects.

slotbuddy

I believe you should index both the maiden and surnames. If you click on the box for surnames, that is what it says.

PatPalmer

I am still confused.....if it list only the child first name but not his/her surname, but list the father and the mother as the same surname, do i list the child surname the same as the father and the mother or do I just do "blank" because it isnt specifically written as the child's surname?

The field help says do not assume the surname of any others in the document. (baptism)

Melissa S Himes

Hi @PatPalmer . You definitely do not index a surname for the child unless the field help tells you too. All projects are different and all instructions are different. Check all the examples in the project instructions and see how they have indexed the names. If you are still confused, share your batch, either with the link or the code which are the letters and numbers in brackets after the project title (as the original poster has done).