US Massachusetts Vital Records 1921-1925

AAMaughan

For the death records under the 'Color or Race' field purple question marks it says:

Color or race should be selected as "White" unless noted after the surname in parenthesis for example (Col) or (Blk), but further down it says if the color or race was not recorded, mark this field 'blank'.

Which is it?

AAMaughan

Thank you!

LarryClark43

I have been marking them white as the instruction to do so is the new addition to the instructions and specific to this particular project.

Hope this answers your Question🙂

The instructions do seem very contradictory in this case.

erutherford

Very odd to have both instructions in the Field Help. I've also been marking the race as White.

@Maile L, here are the two instructions in the Color or Race Field Help.

Color or race should be selected as "White" unless noted after the surname in parenthesis, for example, (Col) or (Blk).

Then...

If the color or race was not recorded or was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field blank.

Can we get a mod ruling?

BraydenGraves

I think that the first one may refer to if the record had a space for recording the race, and it was left blank, but the second instruction is for when there is no space for the race to be written. I could definitely be wrong about that, though.

erutherford

All of the examples do not have a space for a race listing. The birth example race is White while the Marriage example is Colored and the Death example is Black (both listed on the entry), so the instructions are contradictory in nature. I personally have not done a batch where a place for race is listed.

BraydenGraves

@erutherford Good catch. I was working on the batch with an example open, and I didn't even notice.

barbaragailsmith1

We probably have that instruction because the forms in the images tell the person filling them out (in the name column) to note the color if other than white. So if no color is indicated, they were white.

cynthiajoycemullins1

Regarding the batches US, Massachusetts-Vital Records, 1921-1925, please include a message that indexers must select white for all deceased persons unless otherwise stated (col or bl). Check the purple circle.

Julia Szent-Györgyi

I don't see any Word From On High yet about the contradictory instructions.

Maile L

I just saw the following: "Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. The last point, 'If the color or race was not recorded...press Ctrl B to mark this field Blank' has been deleted."