Year of Death List says "1945 or Later". Outside newspaper article indicates 1946. Index 1946?
I'm indexing a long list of deaths from a newspaper (Silverton, Oregon). At the top of the list, a handwritten note says "1945 or later". I noticed 4 teenager deaths on the same day, so I did a newspaper search for one of the teens and found the accident which all 4, by name, died in on that day. The newspaper date is that date in 1946. I had been leaving the year of death as <blank>, but now that I know it, should I go back and index them all as 1946? (The batch is still incomplete and I have a few days left to finish it up). Thank you!
Answers
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It would be helpful for us to see the image ourselves. To let us see it, copy the URL and paste it, then we can pull it up. But we only index what's on the image. We don't go to outside sources to look for things like dates, ages, etc.
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Hi and thank you for responding so quickly. :) I know we are not supposed to use outside sources, but with the handwritten note indicating a rough year, I wasn't sure. I hate to deprive researchers of known information, but want to follow the guidelines.
Article: attached as jpg
Batch: url is below. (see handwritten note at top, and then look at July 7 death entries of teens)
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There is a date, 1945, however, I would not use that date. It could be the death year or it could be filing related or it could be a number of other thing. It's not our job to speculate, infer or assume anything and we definitely do not use outside sources when indexing. That is up to the researcher.
Please share your batch code. Your batch code is located at the top of your indexing screen and looks something like [MMMM-111]. It is also located under Batch ---> About Batch and Help --> Share Batch.
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Hi,
Thanks so much for your response and help. I know we are not supposed to use outside sources - this seemed a little gray to me because there is an approximate date handwritten at the top, and the headline indicates a list of deaths for the past year. The batch code is MQDK-2PF. I'll wait for further input before submitting it.
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Since it says 1945 with a ? after it, then "or later", (how much later are they talking?) I agree that it's probably the approximate year of the deaths, but it's vague. Remember, when people do a search for their ancestors, they'll be able to see the image along with that note written on it. It would make searching easier having a date, but it can be done, especially with the project title being Silverton, Oregon. But... look at the third example of how to index these in the Project Instructions. It shows to index that date written in as the publication date, not the death date, anyway. Also, the Field Help for the Death Place says, "Do not assume the death places from the place of the obituary or publication." So that field would also be Blank for this image.
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Good morning and thank you so much for responding to my question so quickly and clearly. I had left the years blank on all of them, then started second-guessing myself. :) I'll turn the batch in soon. Thanks again!
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