Genealogy Chat

I seem to recall it being mentioned here that there are errors on the LDS records. However, I have just discovered that an ancestor of mine, according to their records, was married to two ladies at the same time !!!!!!!!!! Terry - Gibraltar

I have also found errors on the LDS site. One of my great grand parents had different sur names on 2 different records. The LDS site is a good starting point but you need double check any information you get from original certificates.

Terry - Gibralter As a member of the LDS Church, I helped to compile the 1881 census onto microfiche film. It is possible to find that a man was married to more than one lady as it was in the early days permitted under church statute. This law within the church was later revoked and it was not permitted by the church for a man to be married to more than one woman at a time. I am not sure of the date that this change occurred but if you wish I can find out for you. Let me know. As for the accurracy these records are compiled from original records so we must assume that they were correct at the time of the official records. Pamela (Blackburn, Lancs)

How complete are the LDS records - for example I have a birth entry on Free BMD for Grandpa - born Kingston Surrey 1881 (dec qrtr so checked 2 yrs either side) can't find him on LDS. Am I expecting too much? Sue.

As with all sources, you are best to 'tiangulate' - get at the same information from another angle. LDS sources are subject to human errors of transcription, and indeed original sources are only as good as the person who provided the information and the purpose for which it was given. For example, my great uncle married late in life and understated his age to bring it closer to his new wife's. Even so, the marriage certificate information was useful, both confirming other aspects of his data and adding details of his wife, known in the family as Kitty but named on the cert as Elizabeth. Another example: my ggg-grandmother is described on the christening-record of her son as 'single woman', but the son 'invented' a father described as 'solicitor's clerk' on his first marriage certificate and as 'inn-keeper' (also the son's occupation) for his second marriage: faced with a space and prevailing prijudices, he wrote something plausible. LDS records state a source, and sometimes this is 'family information' - useful as a clue but especially in need of 'triangulation'. Alastair

Sue - the IGI is by no means complete at all,and in fact has numerous large 'holes' in it. But as had been said elsewhere, it is a huge resorce freely available and of huge benefit to us all. The trick is not to get too reliant on it, and to use other resources to double check and verify etc Graham

When the same parents baptised a string of children, it's very common to find that the parents' names change a bit. That's because the vicar couldn't make his mind up, or maybe the family couldn't. Many people weren't really all that sure what their name was supposed to be. Some people had a choice and couldn't make their minds up. It's a feature of all old records, and it's not the LDS's fault. Sometimes there are two different records of the same event, with different spellings of the names. Sometimes the vicar wrote one form of a name in the register and then used a different form in the Bishop's Transcript, and IGI has both. Sometimes admittedly contributors have been careless, but they can usually be spotted. Susan (Davis) -- IGI has very thin coverage for 1881, most parishes more or less stop at 1837 Terry -- bigamy happened, widowhood was much commoner (and IGI doesn't usually have the deaths) -- or do you mean he married two different girls on the same day?

Terry- can I also add that you may be looking at two different sets of records for the same person. As an example my family records are on there under pedigree resource files but they are only my collection ie.what I have contributed and not necessarily correct. The IGI files may have different data for the same person. If you did a search on a name it would show both sets of records. Helena

I did find quite a few members of my paternal line on LDS. However none of them had any children or parents! Are all LDS entries like this?

All LDS entries are not without parents or spouses. It depends on what information they have or have been given. Always check all entries for what could be the same person. There could be different data on each. See my enrty above for reason.

To begin with, in this country at least, Genealogical records were submitted to the Church by members. Some of these members were more enthusiatic than accurate. These are the ones to be wary of. Later the Church commenced the name extraction program where volunteers photographed the original records. This is still continuing. These are, of course, more accurate although the quality of some photographs leaves a lot to be desired. Jim Gosport, HAM UK