Not sure which dates are for what in indexing.

mhackett

I've begun indexing the South Africa, Johannesburg—Cemetery Records, 1840–2019[M32Y-CWG]

On the record it show a date on the left hand side in a box. On the far right hand side at the top of the "undertaker" label, it also shows a date.

Which date do I use as the record date and which for the burial date?

Marian McDonald_1

@mhackett hi. This is just my humble opinion, but I think the record was created on the first date 09-09-2009 and the burial date would be the date the undertakers signed next to their names. Maybe the sheet was received on 13-9-2009.

Thank you for indexing these precious records.

mhackett

Thanks you so much. I thought the same thing, but just needed a another opinion to feel good about.

Ksalers

Based on these instructions

• If there are multiple burial dates recorded for an individual, index the latest burial date. 
• Record date fields are in reference to the date the record was created. Do not index the birth date, death date, or burial date in the record date fields. 

I'd go by this in the future.

For some reason there aren't many instructions on date in the field helps. Normally there are.

Based on this particular batch it makes sense to use the date by the "undertaker" as the burial date. But if you use the date 9-13-2009 for them, I don't see a problem with that since it's based on the instructions.

Line 8 does not have a date beside the undertaker, I'd use the 9-13-2009 as the burial date.

Marian McDonald_1

You're welcome.

mhackett

Thank you