Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Indexing at FamilySearch.org

If you have Internet access and some spare time, here is an opportunity for you to contribute to a worldwide genealogy database. familysearch.org is always looking for volunteer indexers to enter information from original documents into a searchable online database. Go to the website and click on "indexing", and in just a few minutes you can download the software and set up an account. Before finding a project to work on, click on "get started" and scroll down to the indexing tutorials and guidelines to become familiar with the process.

Family Seach will keep track of how many records you enter, and also let you know how accurate your  indexing is- each record is indexed by two volunteers, and an arbitrator decides who is correct when your entry disagrees with the that of the other volunteer.

Tip: After you download a project, look for the link to the project guidelines. Also, when trying to decypher a handwritten name, open a 2nd tab in your browser and go to this website:

worldvitalrecords.com/browsesurnames  


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Slave surnames

This article  from the theroot.com  explains why determining the surname of an enslaved person can be difficult. 

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