Talk:FamilySearch Indexing: US, Texas—Deaths, 1890–1976, Project Updates

Why are the arbitrators not following the presentation slide re: maiden and surnames????? "A woman's middle name may be her maiden name. Determine this by comparing it with her father's surname. Index both the maiden name and the surname in the SURNAME FIELD." EVERY time I do this it is marked wrong. Can't something be done about this??? I just had an arbitrator knock off 20 points (OUCH) because of this. I have a 98% arbritration results and that 20 points is really going to mess that up and I'm only following your directions. I'm just frustrated. HELP! Thanks

&lt;fck:hr&gt; Q: As these records are from Texas, there are many hispanic names. How should we deal with the hispanic custom of giving a child two surnames (one from the mother and one from the father)? Is the mother's maiden name included as a middle name for the child and the father's as the surname, or should both be surnames?

P.S. I have usually only seen the names written as :

FIRST//MOTHER'S MAIDEN (in middle name position)//FATHER'S SURNAME

but I have seen

FIRST//MIDDLE//MOTHER'S MAIDEN//FATHER'S SURNAME

Should these instances be keyed differently?


 * ______________________________________________________ 1/25/12 -- Could you please update the field helps for the birth year?  Currently it states: Birth Year

Type a four-digit number for the year. If no year or only a two-digit number was recorded, you may be able to determine the year from other data on the image or from the previous or next image. If you still cannot determine the full four-digit year, type what was written on the record.

If the year was not recorded or was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Tab to mark this field as blank.

Until the field helps is corrected, it is going to continue to cause confusion for both indexers and arbitrators.

QUESTION: Some certificates are showing City, State AND Country. (These are Texas/Mexico border counties) Some are showing city and state, but the city and states are in Mexico. I have been indexing the state, only to have it changed to Mexico in arbitration. Exactly what should we index in the Birth State or Country field? Thanks.

Birth City or County Type the name of the city or town where the individual was born. If no city or town was recorded and a birth county was, index the county in this field.

When it countains both city and county - what should be typed? Both?