1941 South Africa Marriage for Hindu's
I'm doing my first indexing batch (very inexperienced here...) and am stuck on the following.
-The groom and bride both have one name only listed for them. How do I know if it's their first or last name? Should I put the same name in both spots? Please advise, thanks
There are 2 marriage certificates in the batch and they both have this issue.
Answers
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It would be useful to have the Shared batch code for your batch. Look at t he end of your project name for the 7 number and letter code between brackets starting with the letter 'M'. [Mxxx-xxx] is the format.
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Directions will normally state that if you aren't sure if the name is the surname or the given name, that you index the name as the first name (given name).
If you click on the purple question mark above surname/ given name boxes, it should tell you what to do if you aren't sure if the name is the first or last name.
As annewandering mentioned, sharing the batch will be the best way we can help you :)
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@sarahdianeheins1
Don't mean to be discouraging, but Asian Indian names are very difficult to index.
The South African Indian community is largely descended from Indians who arrived in South Africa from 1860 onwards. Their naming conventions vary based upon an individual's religion and region of origin with India. Surnames were rarely used prior to British colonisation, so single names are common and should be indexed as the Given name.
Asian Indian names can consist of one or more of the following: [title], [personal name], [suffix], [gender designation], [father's personal name], [middle name], [religious name], [family name], [husband's family name].
Unfortunately, the birth, marriage, and death forms rarely have separate Given and Surname fields (some from the 1960s actually do). So, unless you are familiar with Asian Indian naming conventions, the Surname will rarely be apparent if it is even listed on the form.
I would suggest you try another indexing project that follows the standardized Western naming convention of first/middle/last name.
Good luck and welcome to indexing 😊
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