Can we have fields added to indexes?
I've been contributing to indexing electoral records for Māori in New Zealand in the early 20th century. In New Zealand, there are two electoral rolls. The General Roll, and the Māori Roll.
For many Māori, these are the only official records of their existence. Since at the time Māori were still transitioning to registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages, but since they had the right to vote, they enrolled so they could do so.
These electoral records ask them for their name, their town, and importantly, their iwi and hapu (tribe and sub-tribe respectively).
An Iwi is made up of many hapu, and a hapu is made up of a few close families (hapu literally means pregnancy, to highlight the importance of blood relations in a hapu). So there is a good chance that if two individual share the same iwi, hapu, and town, that they are related and I should investigate those individuals more.
Unfortunately when indexing these records, all I'm asked for is "Surname, Given Name, Sex".
Is there a way to have the Māori rolls separated from the general roll, and have new fields added? I'd love to be able to search based on Tribe and Sub-tribe, and see all people who associated with it. It's very likely many of them are family.
Best Answer
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We understand your desires of adding entry fields to index some information that would not be indexed.
The projects to index bring project instructions and help field guidelines dictated by the Guardians and or owners of these project. They regulate how this projects are to be indexed. FamilySearch comply with those instructions.
We index to create an accurate record that can be linked to the image.
The researcher would find the person by names and would be directed to the link of the image of the record, is then when they would decide or conclude to take other information on the record.
You are welcome to post your remarks on the category of Idea for Indexing.
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