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British Vital Records Index - Warning

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Unknown

Unknown Report 24 Dec 2003 07:19

I bought my VRI discs from Ebay - for a fraction of the correct price, and I found the details of my great grandmothers baptism in Ireland. Also found the details of at least a dozen of my husbands tree - birth dates had already been confirmed from other sources - its now nice to add the baptism details. Its like some of the others have said - it is an aid to research - not to be taken as gospel - but as a stepping stone to confirming details :-) AND I have even found a couple of husbands lot on the NBI! so now have exact dates for their interment :-)

Carol

Carol Report 23 Dec 2003 14:30

All information on cds etc are finding aids and should always be treated as such. Nobody is infallable and mistakes can be made when transcribing.

Hilary

Hilary Report 23 Dec 2003 14:27

Well I was very disappointed by the VRI - especially in Greater London. But if you do get the CD's for Christmas and they don't have what you need - you can always sell them on e-bay and often for more than they cost.

Guinevere

Guinevere Report 23 Dec 2003 07:12

Hi Helen, I didn't want to give the impression that I had wasted my money. I'm really happy with it but newbies might think that because it's in the BVRI it's correct and in many cases it isn't. All info from secondary sources should be checked against originals. I know some people who have built trees using the IGI or other transcriptions who discover that they are totally wrong ("father" died at age 2, or misspelt name, incorrect year etc). As I said it's given me a lot of clues but I won't be entering anything in myfiles until I've checked the info given against original records. Happy Christmas, Gwynne

Researching:
Lowestoft and North Suffolk, Monmouthshire, Breconshire, Somerset

Ellen

Ellen Report 22 Dec 2003 13:19

I am glad that you said they were not all wrong. I know that I have it as one of my christmas gifts. Thank you for the warning. Helena X

Guinevere

Guinevere Report 22 Dec 2003 08:23

Hi, I treated myself to an early Christmas present and have been playing with the BVRI. Some of the records I have been looking at are mistranscribed. I already have them in my files and also have some photocopies of the originals. There is also no note made of adult baptism which could be confusing. This is a timely warning to always check transcribed records like the IGI, census CDs and the BVRI against the original records. That's not to say they are a waste of money - they are an excellent guide. I have found several leads worth chasing already but I will order the films of the originals at the LDS before I go hunting. Gwynne

Researching:
Lowestoft and North Suffolk, Monmouthshire, Breconshire, Somerset