Genealogy Chat

That is true. The extracted records aren't so bad - in fact they can be very useful - but, as you say, on the other hand you get other family groups that seem to be taken straight from the census. My great-great-great grandparents are one such case (they were Catholics) and the information about their family group seems to me to have been taken straight from the 1851 census. There is no mention of the two eldest children at all, and the mother's maiden name is not mentioned. (Although to be fair, I have a certificate for the birth of my great-great grandad and I still can't make out his mother's maiden name. It will have to be one of my summer holiday projects.)

Kate Well, to be fair to the Mormons, their genealogical information is collected for religious purposes first and last, primarily to identify and baptise four generations into the Mormon faith. This does not bother me in the slightest - Christians believe that ONLY the first baptism 'takes' in the eyes of God, so they can baptise me whatever they like after I am dead - God won't take any notice, as he already has me marked down as C of E, lol. They do make their records freely available to everyone, no matter what faith,(which is more than can be said for some religions) so I am prepared to take what they offer free, warts and all, and sift through it for the truth. If you stick to extracted records, you should be ok, although even these must be checked against the originals for errors of transcription etc. (As should any transcribed material, from any source) OC

Thanks for that information, OC. I had no idea that that was the case, and quite frankly, I find that appalling practice. I did consider submitting my information to their website, but for two reasons. One, I read that it is stored in their vaults in Utah or somewhere, and two, I think I'm right in saying that a person joining the Mormon church has their relatives retrospectively made part of the Mormon faith. Considering I've got a Catholic priest, a Catholic nun and several Primitive Methodist lay-preachers in my family (all deceased but one), I don't think they'd be very happy about that. Oh, and also, the Personal Ancestral File you can download from their site doesn't work on a Mac, either.

Had a look at the LDS entry - honestly, it isnt worth bothering about. You cannot contact the submitter. This record was submitted I suspect as part of the religious duty of Mormons to identify their ancestors for four generations. When in doubt, they are encouraged to make up an entry, or use any likely possibility, on the grounds that anyone with the surname is 'probably' related. This submitter does not know a firm date of birth and does not know who he married. Forget it, it isnt worth the paper it is written on and the submitter cannot tell you anything useful. OC

Sorry, I don't understand - how can you have a marriage which doesnt show the wife's name? OC

Is this the Martin in Bampton in 1841, with an Anna VENN and a James VENN? If so, they are all shown in 1841 as not born in that county. Gwyn

Its a submitted record which matches what we know. It has the birth for Martin Venn in Bampton Devon info that we have his marriage which doesnt show his wife name (which would help typical!!) So how do you contact the person who submitted the info? thanks alison

Alison If there is no batch number, then it is a submitted record, not an extracted one. You need to contact the submitter, but a lot of the submitted info is private anyway. Personally, I dont bother with submitted information as nine times out of ten it is rubbish. If, however, it gives a firm date and place, it is worth following up the Parish records for that church and checking it for yourself. OC

Is it a submitted record perhaps... One added by a LDS member rather than extracted from parish records? If you could post details maybe others can help. You can do a parent search anyway by just filling in a surname in the appropriate box, NO first name...then towards the right put in parents names with no surname. This can be useful for finding a couple who moved within a small area but will pick up any family in the country with that combination so careful checking is necessary before you jump to conclusions. Gwyn

I have read recent message and tried it and it worked brilliant thankyou! so what do you do with a name that shows up with no batch number? to try and find other children born to the same parents? thanks alison