WikiProject:PA County Church Records Pages

Project Leader
Danielle

Purpose
Church records are an important substitute record in Pennsylvania because the lack of vital records being kept before 1880. Thus, there are many resources and the Church Records section on the county pages are too large. We are going to create subpages and reformat the section.

Part 1: Create pages - Ready Part 2: Add Databases from FS Catalog - Not Ready Part 3: Add New Databases to Applicable Counties - Not Ready

Task List

 * Task List

Step One - Choose a County Page to Create

 * To select a county from the Task List, copy and paste the URL in the task list onto a new tab and press enter. To create the page, click on "create this page" at the end of the sentence.

Step Two - Add Template to New Page

 * Copy the following wikitext and add it to the new Wiki page.

List of Churches and Church Parishes in COUNTYNAME County

 * [REPLACEWITHPLACESURL FamilySearch Places]

Reformed Church
(PUT IMAGE OF DENOMINATIONS FOR COUNTY HERE)

Step Three - Add County Name to the Page

 * Click on Ctrl + F and type in COUNTYNAME to locate the various places on the page that should be replaced with the county name you are working on.

Step Four - Move the Information From County Page

 * Go back to the county wiki page and start transferring over information into the template on your new page.
 * Make sure to:
 * Change REPLACEWITHPLACESURL with the correct URL.
 * Replace (PUT IMAGE OF DENOMINATIONS FOR COUNTY HERE) with the link for the pie chart. Make the pie chart a little larger if necessary.

Step Five - Add Additional Headers

 * Add any necessary denomination headers to cover all the information from the county page. Leave on headers even if they are blank.
 * Add or change headers to fit the needs of the information you have on the county page. For example, if there is no historical sketches for this county, take the header off the page.

Step Six - Review and Reformat all the databases
Old wikitext code: *1842-1880 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, York Springs, Baptism Index 1842-1880 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch New wikitext code: *1842-1880  in International Genealogical Index] at FamilySearch - index
 * Review all of the databases found under each heading to make sure they are in the correct header and are in chronological order.
 * Reformat any of the database links to match the Manual of Style.
 * Use the following example to update all the links for IGI Batches:

Step Seven - Example

 * To assist in seeing how the information should change, here is a link to the previous Church Records section for Adams County.
 * This is the the link to the new Adams County Church Records page: Adams County, Pennsylvania Church Records

Step Eight - Preview and Save the Page
Create new county church records page
 * Once you have moved over all the information, preview the page to make sure all the links work and it looks correct.
 * Copy and paste the following in the Summery line:

Step Nine - Remove Church Info from County Page and Link to Wiki Page
*Visit COUNTYNAME County, Pennsylvania Church Records for information about church denominations and records in COUNTYNAME County. /* Church Records */ Moved info to County Church Records page
 * Go back to the county page you are working on and remove all of the information under Church Records that was there before except for the PA Church Intro template.
 * Add the following link directly under the Intro template.
 * Replace COUNTYNAME in the link with the name of the county.
 * Preview the section and make sure the link works and then add the following in the Summary field and save the page.

Step One - Go to the Church Records Task List

 * Go to the Church Records Task List and locate the county you are working on. They are in alphabetical order.

Step Two - Go to the Church Records Task List

 * This spreadsheet lists all the FamilySearch Catalog collections available for all the counties in Pennsylvania. Copy each database in Column ? and:
 * Paste it under the correct denomination header.
 * If the denomination header is not on the page, add it.
 * Put the databases in chronological order and if there is no date, at the end of the respective lists.
 * Headers for the denominations should be in alphabetical order.
 * If you see a collection that may not be appropriate on the wiki, leave it off and add a note in Column ?

Step One - Open County Church Records Page

 * Use the task list to go to the County Church Records page.
 * Find the header in the Contents: General Databases Covering Several Denominations and click on Edit Source.

Step Two - Review and Add Databases
*1512-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties
 * Review the entries to see if any of the below collections are already under this heading.
 * Add any missing collections and replace the old ones on the page with the new version of the link.
 * 1520-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties
 * 1856-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties ,br>
 * Make sure all the databases listed under this header are in chronological order.

Step Three - Review and Save the Page
/* General Databases Covering Several Denominations */ PA Church Databases Project
 * Click on Preview and if the links work, copy the following and add it to the Summary field:
 * Click on Save Changes.

Step Four - Find the Congregational Church Header
*1620-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties
 * Use the Contents on the page to locate the Congregational Church Header and click on Edit Source.
 * Copy the following database and add it under the header:

Step Five - Review and Save the Page
/* Congregational Church */ PA Church Databases Project
 * Click on Preview and if the links work, copy the following and add it to the Summary field:
 * Click on Save Changes.