February 2014
Obituaries
Indexing with Family Search is
vital to the work of salvation
This project will be enticing to all, especially
those who are just beginning to research.
Look at the scope of this project. Likely it
will take much longer than 2014!
Look at the scope of this project. Likely it
will take much longer than 2014!
The little orange
circles in the middle
of this chart
represent the
projects that are
now available.
The black line at the
bottom represents
live projects.
Part of the value of these records comes in
the number of names and relationships.
Clicking “learn more” on Capt’n Jack’s page
takes you to this blog article:
Clicking “learn more” on Capt’n Jack’s page
takes you to this blog article:
“Tens of thousands
of additional
volunteers are
needed to keep up
with the volume of
obituary indexing
projects coming this
year.”
Clicking “learn more” on Capt’n Jack’s page
takes you to this blog article:
“Many indexers will
enjoy indexing obituaries
because they are so
interesting to read and
are virtually all
typewritten. However,
each obituary is as
unique as the deceased
person it portrays, and
this uniqueness can
make obituaries
deceptively tricky to
index correctly.”
Scroll down to find links to specific obituary
training and general instructions also.
Use these resources before and as you index.
Here is the current indexing program
workspace. Download an obituary batch.
If you don’t see “obituary” in the title, select
the “all projects” button.
Read messages from your administrator and
from FamilySearch indexing headquarters.
Every time you
open an
obituary
batch, you will
be invited to
review a
video, a blog
article and . .
A 52 page PDF
document trying
to answer every
question you
might have.
It might be a
good idea to
download this
document and
save it for ready
reference on
your desktop.
In the next few
slides I will alert
you to some of the
rules and
characteristics of
this project.
Use the ruler to keep your place in the
document if that is helpful.
Now for some of the trickier rules:
Gender: In this
obituary, gender of
the deceased can
be determined
from the words,
“Mrs.” and
“daughter.” Do not
ever assume
gender based on a
given name.
Relationship: Use
“Parent,” “sibling”
or “child” unless a
gender specific
relationship type is
stated.
In this obituary,
the words “sons,
daughters, sisters
and brothers” are
used, but not
“mother and
father”, so you
would index them
as “Parents.”
Names: What
about Maiden
Names?
Names: Index
“Marie” as the
given name,
“Kober Hubert” as
the surname, with
the maiden name
first, and “Mrs.”
in the title field.
Maiden
Names
can be
tricky.
If the mother’s name
“Fellinger” had been
inside ( )’s, then we
could assume that this
is a maiden name, and
we could assign the
parents a gender.
Otherwise, they are
just “parents.”
Index every name
in the order in
which it appears in
the obituary.
Include people like
the minister if he
is named. He
would be
categorized as a
“non-relative.”
Index every name
in the order in
which it appears in
the obituary.
Include people like
the minister if he
is named. He
would be
categorized as a
“non-relative.”
If someone is
mentioned twice,
record the most
complete name,
but only record
him/her once
(unless it is an
obituary for 2
people and they
share relatives.)
Age: Don’t do the
math to figure out
the age if it is not
stated. Don’t add
geographic
locations if they
are not stated.
Don’t assume
anything!
Age: Don’t do the
math to figure out
the age if it is not
stated. Don’t add
geographic
locations if they
are not stated.
Don’t assume
anything!
In this obituary,
the date of
death is not
specifically
mentioned, but
the date typed
on this card can
be used, “13
Aug 1979.”
Tricky Names
• Mrs. Robert (Susan) Jones is indexed as one
person: Susan Jones
Tricky Names
• Mrs. Robert (Susan) Jones is indexed as one
person: Susan Jones
• Robert (Susan) Jones is indexed as two
people: Robert Jones and Susan Jones.
Helpful Hints:
• There are no “step, adopted, foster or great”
grandchildren. Just index them as
“grandchildren.”
Helpful Hints:
• There are no step, adopted, foster or great grandchildren. Just
index them as “grandchildren.”
• On Funeral Programs, do not assume a
relationship. Pallbearers should be listed as
“Non-relatives.”
Helpful Hints:
• There are no step, adopted, foster or great grandchildren. Just
index them as “grandchildren.”
• On Funeral Programs, do not assume a relationship. Pallbearers
should be listed as “Non-relatives.”
• If an obituary stretches over two or more
images, index all information on the first
image and mark subsequent images as “NoExtractable Data”
Helpful Hints:
• There are no step, adopted, foster or great grandchildren. Just
index them as “grandchildren.”
• On Funeral Programs, do not assume a relationship. Pallbearers
should be listed as “Non-relatives.”
• If an obituary stretches over two or more images, index all
information on the first image and mark subsequent images as
“No-Extractable Data”
• A widow is a spouse; a divorced spouse is a nonrelative
Helpful Hints:
• There are no step, adopted, foster or great grandchildren. Just
index them as “grandchildren.”
• On Funeral Programs, do not assume a relationship. Pallbearers
should be listed as “Non-relatives.”
• If an obituary stretches over two or more images, index all
information on the first image and mark subsequent images as
“No-Extractable Data”
• A widow is a spouse; a divorced spouse is a non-relative
• If an obituary shows up in German, mark that image “NoExtractable Data”
There are many more “picky” rules: the most
important is Use Your Best Judgement!
VITAL
Have Fun! And play by the rules !
“Or I’ll come lookin’ for ye!”