Dito symbol marks representing same baptismal date

galenkirkgoodrich

I'm indexing and reviewing Zambia, Archdiocese of Lusaka—Church Records, 1950–2015 [Part B] currently. I'm trying to use my best judgement here while also trying to follow the instructions of the project. What do you recommend when I see a Baptismal/Christening date at the top of page and all dito " symbol or marks representing the same baptismal date for all the names on the page that follow. I know it does not specifically say the baptism date for the additional names on the page but it is quite obvious what was meant. What do you think?

galenkirkgoodrich

Here is a screen shot example. The Baptismal date is 24 Dec 1998 for the first person christened on the page. The name records on the same page all have dito marks. It is obvious to me. Is it obvious to anyone else here that all the remaining names on the same page had the same baptismal date? What do you recommend?

Melissa S Himes

Hi. It is always best to share the batch and not screen shots. It is great you covered up the details, but, seeing the whole document is the best way to get a good answer. With what you have here, I would agree those are ditto marks. There is a section in the Project Instructions under General Indexing Guidelines about Ditto Marks:

Ditto Marks

• If a record has a ditto mark or other sign of repetition, type the corresponding information from the previous record or field.
• Do not index the word "ditto" or the ditto mark itself. Other signs of repetition may include the abbreviation "Do" or a vertical or horizontal line.
• Sometimes you will have to depend on contextual information to determine whether a mark indicates repeated information from an earlier record or field, or whether it means something else, such as that no information was given for that record or field.

I think you are safe to use the same date for each entry.