US, Massachusetts—Vital Records, 1921–1925

sharpyshow

When indexing Birth Registers, is the Father's Surname the same as the Child's Surname, or shall we leave the Father's Surname as 'blank' ?

The answer wasn't to be found in the Project Instructions. See ?

This is a very simple question and I'd appreciate a simple answer.

Thank you !

Screen Shot 2023-10-03 at 11.01.04 AM.png

AAMaughan

If the father's surname is not listed on the document, you fill it in as 'blank'.

erutherford

Expanding on marking it blank. It is assumed that the father's name is the same as the child's name, however, it is not our job to assume anything on any project, so that's part of the reason why we mark it blank; the other being that it's not listed. Once the project is available for public use, the researcher can make the assumption that father and child have the same surname.