West Virginia Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records/Known Issues

Known Issues
NOTE: To validate the death date, please visit our Partner Site to view the original record. It is also helpful to view surrounding images to check other death dates since the indexer may have misinterpreted the original handwriting. Since the record year is only given in two-digits, it would be easy for the indexer to lose track of the correct century when records are not sequentially ordered.

Question #1: Some records appear to be indexed as a death date from the 1800s instead of the 1900s. How can I identify which records are affected? Answer #1: Generally, records with a death date from 1800 to 1853 fall into the suspect category of records that should be dated 1900 to 1953. Specific affected indexed records can be identified with a Film Number: 849406, a Digital Folder Number: 4229724, and an Image Number from 196 to 226, from Wirt County, West Virginia and the surname range from D to R; specifically: • surnames starting with D from 1841-1870 should be a 1941-1970 death date; • surnames starting with E - Q from 1831-1870 should be a 1931-1970 death date; and • surnames stating with R from 1831-1859 should be a 1931-1959 death date.

Question #2: Some records appear to be indexed as a death date from the 1900s instead of the 1800s. How can I identify which records are affected? Answer #2: Generally, records with a death date from 1971 to 1999 fall into the suspect category of records that should be dated 1871 to 1899.

Question #3: Some records appear to be indexed as deaths which are actually births. How can I identify which records are affected? Answer #3: Generally, records with an image viewed from our Partner Site that has a header “Register of Births …” or the Partner Site identifies the record as “Birth Records Search Results …” are birth records. Specific affected indexed records can be identified with a Film Number 559300: Births, v. 1 1853-1893, a Digital Folder Number: 4014156, and from Cabell County, West Virginia.

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