Record Type
I have a batch of Middlesex records for indexing UK, England, Middlesex—Parish Registers, 1539–1988 [Part A][MSXV-7VR], and while the right hand page is listed as burials, the left hand page just lists dates and either Mr.... or Mrs.... with some just stating 'Banns' and a date. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between the left and right pages, apart from the month. What are the record types?
Best Answer
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Not being able to see the reference images, and thinking that Dellory was probably correct that we don't index these, I went in search of the film. I agree that these don't get indexed but thought they might be churchings since all the dates with names are Mrs. There are dates that suggest Banns were read, but it seemed odd that no male names were written if they were banns.
Thinking that they might be churchings, I went in search of a birth or christening record about a month or two prior to this record of February 1824.
After further investigation of the film, it shows that on the same dates:
Mr & Mrs Hollingsworth's baby William was christened on Feb 4th 1824. The same date that Mrs. Hollingsworth appears on this image. To further strengthen the case that these are churchings and not burials, I see that Mr & Mrs Batters' baby daughter Ann was Christened on Feb 8th 1824, as was Mrs. Oakley's son. Ms Wrights son was christened on the 11th, etc.
It makes sense that the purification rite of churching and the christening were on the same dates, since this would be the first time the mother was back in the church. Churchings generally occur 1 to 2 months after births. We don't index churchings per the instructions.
Hope that helps!
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Answers
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Hi Barry! Indexers and Reviewers can also view the previous images before and after their batches by clicking on the reference image icon. This is the bottom icon on the vertical toolbar in the image area. It is very helpful to view these reference images since they often show a pattern of the images being indexed. The moderator posting above probably saw that the prior page listed Burials, most likely from January 1824 proving a continuation of information from one batch to the next and a clue to what your batch held!
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The left side of the page, which refers to Banns, appears to be an index to those marriage-type records. Without dates, we would not index them.
In parish records, it is not unusual to mix record types.
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Please note the following:
Re: UK, England, Middlesex—Parish Registers, 1539–1988 [Part A][MSXV-7VR],
The list on the left records are the minister’s appointments or activities on those days. They are not identified as births, marriages or deaths. The entry for “banns” probably indicated that the minister posted banns for a couple, but there is no identification of the name of the bride or the groom.
Please index only the information on the right side of the page – the burial entries
Thank you for sharing the Batch code with your question.
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If you don't want to have to do an exhaustive search of the film, the christening dates for these women's babies are on image 374.
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Thanks very much for all your comments and suggestions. Most of all, 'Thank You' for taking the time to research the names mentioned and find the reason for their inclusion. Now I understand.
Kind regards,
Barry
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