Naturalization Batch
I'm indexing a naturalization batch, and this person's birth place is stated as "Barbados BWI" is there a standard format that I should use for this birth location?
Answers
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If I understand correctly, if your instructions say to expand the location you can note it as Barbados, British West Indies, but you should check on your instructions first,
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The field helps for Birthplace state that localities should be spelled out when you know what the abbreviation stands for. Field helps are accessed by clicking on the purple question mark so that you can read all the info tucked inside.
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If you know the abbreviation, expand it. From the Birthplace Field Help (purple question mark):
You should expand abbreviations or correct misspellings when you can tell what the abbreviation stands for or what the correction should be to the spelling. Do not use outside resources to verify locality spellings.
"Outside sources" would be looking up the location on Google or Yahoo or consulting that book you have on the city/country.
BWI is British West Indies. Britain had a ton of territories in the Carribean (and elsewhere) at one point. From Wikipedia:
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonised British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Guiana (now Guyana) and Trinidad and Tobago.[1] Other territories included Bermuda, and the former British Honduras (now Belize).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Keep in mind that the Birthplace is the what the birthplace at the time of the document. Barbados is no longer a British territory, but it was at the time of the document.
Only Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Turks & Caicos and Montserret remain under British rule in 2024.
You may also see the abbreviation DEI. DEI is Dutch East Indies that included countries like New Guinea and Java. I can count on both hands the birthplace of Dutch East Indies because I think that area was under immigration quotas at one point after the National Origins Act was passed in 1924.1 -
Ok, I understand that google and yahoo are both considered 'outside resources'. What I'd like to know is if there is something that could be considered an 'inside source', aka, a resource that is acceptable to check spelling on different places.
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