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From: "Helen S. Ullmann" <>
Subject: [APG] Once more re the IGI
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 14:00:56 -0500
References: <200303131803.h2DI3Zbo029563@lists2.rootsweb.com>


Chad and others have made some good comments on the IGI, but I think no
one has yet covered the points made in my 1993 article on the IGI,
points which are still valid though a bit harder to use now that the IGI
is online.

If you want to read an abbreviated version of it, see
http://www.livgenmi.com/fhcigi.htm

At the end of that, it tells how to get a reprint of the article, but
it's no longer available. If someone asks, I'll transcribe it as a Word
document and attach it to an email message.

The main point is that depending on when the name was submitted you may
be able to get different kinds of backup information. It used to be
easy to tell when the name was submitted by looking at the LDS ordinance
dates. But now, as you all know, they are only available to church
members.

However, if you will click on the source referenced, you will find
yourself in the family history library catalog, probably into a long
list of films. If it's temple records, look for the specific film and
for the dates it covers. If it is original records of some type,
usually vital or church records, you have found an extracted entry and
can go to the source itself.

If it's temple records before about 1991 you can probably get some kind
of documentation.

If the dates are before 1942 you can probably (not always - some films
are restricted) order the microfilm and find the entry in a group of
other names submitted by the same person. This can be very helpful, but
then again, it may not. If the film is restricted, you can hire an LDS
professional in Salt Lake to look at the film for you.

If the dates are between 1942 and 1969 you can still order the temple
record film, but what will probably be more cost-effective is to order
the film for that surname in the Family Group Records Archives. I find
it by looking for film 1,275,000 and then scanning up and down the
list. These family group sheets are alphabetical by head of family, but
there may be family group sheets for the person both as a parent and as
a child.

>From 1969 to about 1990 patrons submitted Individual or Marriage Entry
Forms. Each form was assigned to a batch of 99 sheets and then
microfilmed. So you get a batch number, a sheet or page number and a
film number in the reference. You can order the microfilm itself, which
may have a whole series of entries by the same person. Or you can get a
photoduplication form from your nearest Family History Center and use
that. But be aware that there are new forms and prices have risen.

The batch number usually begins with the last two digits of the year it
was submitted, e.g., 79... or 82... During this period many of the
extracted records were given batch numbers beginning with C or M, but
some of them, particularly New England Vital Records, have numbers
beginning with the year. Batch numbers beginning with F or 50 or 60 are
family group sheets, which were also used during this period. Numbers
beginning with A suggest that there may be a family group sheet in the
1942-69 collection.

Both the Family Group Sheets and the Individual and Marriage Entry Forms
include sources and the name and address of the submitter. If an source
includes an old FHL call number, call the 1st floor library attendant at
the FHL to get it converted.

>From 1991, as Chad and/or others have explained, and as the IGI itself
explains, there's nothing we can get. It's worth checking the Ancestral
File and the Pedigree Resource File, but probably most members submit
names without being aware of the AF or the PRF.

As for citing the IGI as a source, as someone else said, I use it only
temporarily until I find something better.

For the use of temple records as a source, see Faye Thompson's article
on the Culver family in the October 2002 New England and Historical
Genealogical Register, p. 337f.

Hope this helps,
Helen

--
Helen S. Ullmann, CG, FASG
713 Main St.
Acton, MA 01720
Specializing in Southern New England and Norwegian genealogical
research.



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