Whether to index certain names for: US—City and Business Directories, 1749–1990 [Part B] [MSPD-PWJ]
Hello everyone,
I have a few questions regarding of whether I should index certain names for project: US—City and Business Directories, 1749–1990 [Part B][MSPD-PWJ].
1) Savage Son & Co.
How would I index this, or does it need to be indexed? Can't tell if "Savage Son" is someone's first and last name. Of course I don't index "Co."
2) Juda Simon (Oesterman, Rehfisch & Co)
I index the name "Juda Simon" but what do I do about those names in parenthesis? They sound like last names. Do I just index the last name? I would think this would be pretty hard for someone to connect their family names to since there could be a lot of people with those last names, and without a first name I am not sure whether these last names (assuming that they are) need to be indexed?
3) Joseph William, porter Steele & Jacobson, 129 Second St.
Ok, so I index "Joseph William", but what about "Steele & Jacobson?" Just last names, no first names.
Any help on all three of these examples would be gratefully appreciated!!!
Thanks!
Best Answer
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- I would index Savage as a surname.
- You would index the names as 2 entries with the two surnames: Oesterman and Rehfisch
- Again, You create 2 entries with the surname of Steele and the surname of Jacobson.
The projects instructions under What to Remember About this Project are helpful with this question:
- Index names of employers and and employees. When indexing business names, index the names of individuals only. For example, "The Ad Book" would not be indexed, but "Barner Kehlenbeck Wines and Liquors" should be indexed. In this case, you would create 2 entries. One for Barner (surname) and another for Kehlenbeck (surname). Do not index occupations or terms such as, "banker," "policeman," "M.D.," or similar terms.
On the batch you shared, you could create records for A S Mathur, and M B Frost from the 3rd listing. There is no need to create a record for only the surnames of Mathur and Frost in the second listing since their given names are listed below. You would not create a duplicate record for L Van Horn either since it has already been indexed on line two.
Hope that makes sense.
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