baptism records

williambloomfield

when indexing baptisms and only one name is given for parent. how do you determine if the parent is the mother or the father

genthusiast

If the name is in a father/mother column, or if the record uses father/mother identification. The Project instructions may give specific instructions about assuming sex/gender or parental status for various fields. The purple ? (Field Help) for each field may give further instruction.

Generally we are not to assume gender/sex unless explicitly identified.

My opinion: Depending on the record a pattern of entry may be demonstrated - so that whether there are Father/Mother column headings it identifies the parent as one or the other. If there is only one parent listed I would be looking to see where in the record 'pattern' the name falls and that may give a clue. Otherwise the name itself (but yes there are some non-gender specific names) may give a clue (generally Project instructions state to not use these for determining gender).

Susan Ann Mullen

If the instructions do not help then sometimes we have use our best judgement. Be sure to check the reference images to help.