What do you do when a parent's gender is ambiguous?
I'm indexing South African records with a "Parent name" column, but separate fields for Father and Mother. When there are two names, I'm using context to decide which to list as father or mother. But when there is only one name given... do I fill out both mother and father with the same name, or assume it's the father, or assume it's the mother? Finally, does it make a difference if no first names are given? Or if the person is older, as in this example?
Best Answer
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We have an updated answer for this question.
"Usually, when only a single parent is named, that is usually the name of the mother. We need to use our best judgment in these situations. If the name appears to be that of a male or you cannot determine whether it is a male or a female, please index the name in the father's name fields. Otherwise, it would be appropriate to index the name in the mother's name fields."
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Answers
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This is the project:
South Africa—Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801–2004 [Part E][M3CV-ZXZ]
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Usually on birth records when there is only one name listed it is the mother. But, if you can't tell the difference, indexing the name in the father's name column is always the best way to go. These should all be Parent 1 and Parent 2 and then we wouldn't have to make these decisions!
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We are researching this question. It is a difficult situation. Please hold until we get back to you on this. Thanks!
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We have an answer for you. We are to index the first name recorded as the father's name and the second as the mother's name.
"How to Index a Baptism Record example and the Field Help example for Father’s Given Names. On these documents, the father’s name is recorded first, with the mother’s name below. Even though the form on the subject batch is a little different than the examples, the name format is the same."
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Did they look at the batch, because neither example is helpful and the name format is not the same. Both examples have two names (presumably a father followed by a mother). This question is about what to do when there is only one name in the given name column. In this case, do they always want a single name indexed in the father's column since it is the only, and thus "first name recorded"?
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Let me clarify that answer. I did misread the question.
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The first sentence suggests that when in doubt, assume it's the mother. The third sentence suggests that when in doubt, assume it's the father! If I could tell the gender I wouldn't have the question... So I guess the guidance is when in doubt... assume the father.
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(Thank you!)
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