Talk:FamilySearch Indexing: US, Illinois, Cook County—Deaths, 1955–1958, Additional Helps

Use of titles, specifically Mrs.
I understand that normally we do not index the terms Mr Mrs Miss etc on this project. However, this instruction needs to be modified if the indexed fields are not to be downright misleading.

More than once, I have indexed the informant's name as Mrs. John Doe, who may have been the mother, the daughter, niece or sister of the deceased.

The arbitrators, in faithful compliance with the the rule, removed the title Mrs. Thus, a person looking at the indexed data and not the image (which is currently not available, and who knows when it will be?) will conclude that John Doe ( possibly the father, son-in-law, nephew or brother of the deceased) is the informant. That is not only incorrect, but can lead the researcher to possibly erroneous conclusions, including that the male is still alive and involved in the life of the deceased.

I believe that the rule needs to be modified to say that Mr Mrs Miss should not be indexed unless it is necessary to clarify the person's gender when it is not indicated elsewhere in the indexed fields.