Problems with automated indexing -- the priest who did the baptisms is indexed in every record
There are many problems with the way this Puerto Rico baptisms book was indexed by the computer. Here's one: the priest who performed the baptism is indexed in every record, usually twice because he's mentioned at the top of the form and then signs his name at the bottom, so his name is picked up twice. He shouldn't be indexed at all. Is there anything that can be done to fix it, or to prevent it from happening in the future? Maybe this index can be scrapped, and the images submitted for manual indexing?
Caguas. Baptism Records 1948–1954
Sample page: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKW-M6QS?view=index&action=view
Other issues with this index:
- Record groups that span multiple baptism records.
- Only the first name of the principal is being captured. The principal's name is present in two places, once with first name only, and again to the right with the full name, so we should be able to include the full name in the index.
- Combining of names. e.g. two grandparents listed on the same line (first last - first maiden) are often indexed as one person with four parts to their name.
- The right-hand side of the record is usually indexed as a separate record group, but shouldn't be. This is the area where the baptism record number and the principal's full name are written, and also includes the "Nota de Matrimonio" information. This area should not be a separate record group, it should be combined with the rest of the baptism record to the left. Furthermore, all of these right-hand areas on a page are frequently combined into one Frankenstein-like baptism record group that spans the page from top to bottom.
If these issues were infrequent I wouldn't complain, but you can find all of these issues in virtually every image.
I think we should give the computer a failing grade on this one, and either have it try again, or submit the images for manual indexing.
Answers
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If you want to leave feedback on a specific image, the best option is to use the feedback tab on the left side of the screen. These go directly to the team in charge.
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Thanks. The question is not for a specific image, but for all images in the set.
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Thank you for your suggestion. I left feedback on the Group Data page.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKW-MX3W?view=explore&action=view&groupId=M9SP-CK6
This is what I wrote:
Thank you for providing these baptism images to the public.
I am bringing to your attention some issues with the way they were indexed. These issues occur so frequently, that you can find examples in virtually every image in the group. I feel something should be done to correct them systematically.
1. The priest performing the baptism is indexed in every record. Usually he is indexed twice, since his name is mentioned at the top of the form, then he signs the form at the bottom. My understanding is that the priest should not be indexed.
2. The record groups do not align with the records in the image. The image shows 3 baptism records per page, so 6 records in each image. Usually the right-hand section of each form is mistakenly indexed as a separate record. I'm referring to the section on the right of each baptism record where the full name of the baptizee is written, and where the marriage information can be recorded at a later date.
3. The names of two grandparents are often indexed as one person. E.g. Maternal Grandparents written as, "Victorio López - Morgana Valdés" are indexed as one name instead of two.
4. The full name of the principal (baptizee) is not being captured. In the image the principal's name is written twice, once with the given name(s) only, and again to the right with the full name. As mentioned above, the right-hand section of the form is usually indexed, incorrectly, as a separate record (or it is ignored altogether), leaving only the given name in the first record. In the second record consisting only of the right-hand side of the form, the full name is indexed as two separate people. E.g the surname "Aponte-Marquez" followed by, given names, "José Rafael" on the second line are indexed as two people when it should be one.
Despite these issues I was able to find my family members, but I'm thinking the records could be useful to more people if these problems are addressed. They are so prevalent that I think we will find them in close to 100% of the records.
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