FamilySearch Indexing: US, Texas-Birth Records, 1903-1934Edit This Page
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This article contains instructions for indexing a collection of records online for FamilySearch. |
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Help index these records: http://indexing.familysearch.org Access and search completed indexes: Historical Record Collections | |
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24% completed (estimate) |
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Contents |
General Information
Sample Images
Sample of a Texas birth certificate
Sample of a certificate with an overlay
Sample of a certificate with multiple births recorded
Sample of an amendment to a birth certificate
Skill Level: Beginning
This project is recommended for new volunteers who are still becoming familiar with the indexing process and system.
Characteristics of This Project
- Only birth records are to be indexed in this project.
- Some of the birth records are amendments to the previous record. Index any information. Do not correct the information on the original certificate.
- Marriage and death records may be mixed in with the birth records. If a death or marriage record is encountered, do not index it. Mark all death and marriage records as No Extractable Data Image in the Image Type field.
- Certificates are generally one record per image.
- Batches contain 20 images each.
Description of the Records
- There are both birth certificates and amendments.
- Most records were handwritten.
- Records are on forms.
- There are many different styles of records. Look carefully to locate the information for each field to be indexed.
Additional Information
- Basic indexing guidelines: For all projects.
- Field-by-field Help: A list of all field help.
Access Restrictions
The completed index will be freely accessible online to the general public when the collection is published. The digital images will be accessible to active FamilySearch account holders once an authentication system is put in place on Record Search. Until authentication is available, the images will not be accessible.
How to Help With This Project
- If you have not already done so, you must register as an indexing volunteer to help with this project. To register, click here.
- Once registered, sign in to the indexing application, click the Download Batch... button, and select this project name from the list.
Project-specific Indexing Instructions
Number of Images per batch
Batches have 20 images per batch.
Records per Image
The data entry area is set at 1 record per image. You may need to add additional entry lines to match the actual number of records on your image. To do this:
- On the menu bar, click Tools.
- Click Records per Image.
- Set the number of records to the actual number of records on the image
- Click OK.
To help identify the number of records on an image:
- Click the Image Navigation tab in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Click and drag the dark gray box with your mouse to move around to all areas of the image.
Duplicate Images
- At times, there may be duplicate images in a batch. Check carefully to make sure it is a second image of the same document. When information that is on one document is repeated on another document, that does not make it a duplicate image.
- If there are duplicate images, index the image which is the easiest to read. It is acceptable to combine information from the duplicate record onto the one being indexed if it is easier to read on the duplicate.
- Mark the other image as a duplicate by doing the following:
- On the Header Data tab, click in the Image Type field, and then click the down arrow at the right side of the field.
- Select Duplicate Image from the list.
- Click Yes on the warning message.
- Finish indexing the rest of the image in the batch.
Blank and No Extractable Data Images
- Do not index blank forms.
- If an image or all forms on the image are blank, mark the entire image as Blank.
- If an image contains only information that does not need to be indexed, mark it as No Extractable Data. To do this:
- On the Header Data tab, click in the Image Type field, and then click the down arrow at the right side of the field.
- Select Blank or No Extractable Data.
- Press Enter or Tab.
- Click Yes on the warning message.
- Finish indexing the rest of the images in the batch.
Overlay images
- Click here for an example of an image with an overlay.
- Index all information that is visible on the image from both the overlay and page under it.
Field-by-field Help
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Image Type Describe the image above. To do this, click in the Image Type field, and then click the down arrow at the right side of the field. Select an option from the list. If the image is normal and has information to be indexed, select Normal. Then press Tab or Enter. If there is no information to be indexed because the image is blank, is a duplicate, has no extractable data, or is unreadable, select one of these options. Press Tab or Enter, and, on the warning message, click Yes. Continue to the next image in the batch. |
 State Type the state of birth in this field. If the state has been misspelled, spell it correctly. If it has been abbreviated, and you can determine what the abbreviation stands for, type the complete name. Use the lookup list for assistance. If the state was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 County Type the county of birth in this field. If the county has been misspelled, spell it correctly. If it has been abbreviated, and you can determine what the abbreviation stands for, type the complete name. Use the lookup list for assistance. If the county was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 City or Town Type the city or town of birth in this field. If the city or town has been misspelled, spell it correctly. If it has been abbreviated, and you can determine what the abbreviation stands for, type the complete name. Use the lookup list for assistance. If the city or town was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Certificate or State File Number Type the certificate or state file number as it is written or stamped on the record. The number is usually located in the top center or top right corner of the page. If a certificate or state file number was not recorded, press Ctrl+B to mark this field blank. |
 Given Names Type the given names that were written on the record The given names may be written either before or after the surname. Watch the names carefully, and be sure to type the names into the correct fields on the indexing screen. If multiple births were recorded on one certificate, create a different record for each child. Do not include titles or terms with the given names, such as: Jr, Baby, Infant, etc. Do not index punctuation, except hyphens and apostrophes when they were written on the document as part of the name. If a given name was abbreviated, type the name as it was written on the document. Do not type a period after the abbreviation. There will be names from other cultures included. If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, index the name in this field. If the given names were not recorded or were written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Surname Type the surname that was written on the record. The surname may be written either before or after the given names. Watch the names carefully, and be sure to type the names into the correct fields on the indexing screen. If the surname was not recorded, do not derive the surname from the father or mother. Do not include titles or terms with the surname, such as: Jr, Baby, Infant, etc. Do not index punctuation, except hyphens and apostrophes when they were written on the document as part of the name. There will be names from other cultures included. If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, index the name in the Given Names field. If the surname was not recorded, was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Titles or Terms Type the titles or terms that were written on the record. If the titles or terms were not recorded or contain a variation of the work "unknown," press Tab to skip this field. |
 Gender Type M for male or F for female. If the gender was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Birth Month Type the birth month that was written on the record. The acceptable abbreviation for the month is the first three letters: Jan, Feb, Mar, etc. Do not include descriptive words, such as: "around", "about", or "abt". If the month was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Birth Day Type the one- or two-digit number for the day. Do not include descriptive words, such as: "about" or "abt." If the day was not recorded or was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Birth Year Type a four-digit number for the year. Do not include descriptive words, such as: "around", "about", or "abt". If the year was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark the field as blank. |
 Father's Given Names Type the father's given names that were written on the record. The given names may be written either before or after the surname. Watch the names carefully, and be sure to type the names into the correct fields on the indexing screen. Do not include titles or terms with the given names, such as: Sr, Jr, Dr, etc. If a given name was abbreviated, type the name as it was written on the document. Do not type a period after the abbreviation. There will be names from other cultures included. If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, index the name in this field. If the given names were not recorded or contain a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Father's Surname Type the father's surname that was written on the record. The surname may be written either before or after the given names. Do not include titles or terms with the surname, such as: Sr, Jr, Dr, etc. There will be names from other cultures included. If you cannot determine whether a name is a given name or a surname, index the name in the Father's Given Names field. If the surname was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
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Father's Titles or Terms Type the titles or terms that were written on the record. If the titles or terms were not recorded or contain a variation of the word "unknown," press Tab to skip this field. |
 Mother's Given Names Type the mother's given names that were written on the record. The given names may be written either before or after the surname. Watch the names carefully, and be sure to type the names into the correct fields on the indexing screen. Do not include titles or terms with the given names, such as: Mrs, Miss, etc. If a given name was abbreviated, type the name as it was written on the document. Do not type a period after the abbreviation. There will be names from other cultures included. If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, index the name in this field. If the given names were not recorded or contain a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
 Mother's Surname Type the mother's surname that was written on the record. The surname may be written either before or after the given names. When the mother's maiden surname and married surname are both given, record only the maiden surname. The surname may be written either before or after the given names. Watch the names carefully, and be sure to type the names into the correct fields on the indexing screen. Do not include titles or terms with the surname, such as: Miss, Mrs, etc. There will be names from other cultures included. If you cannot determine whether a name is a given name or a surname, index the name in the Mother's Given Names field. If the surname was not recorded or contains a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank. |
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Mother's Titles or Terms Type the titles or terms that were written on the record. If the titles or terms were not recorded or contain a variation of the word "unknown,"press Tab to skip this field. |
Project Updates
Current information, questions and answers about this project; updated as needed.
Common Mistakes Made in Indexing this Project:
- Indexing only one certificate when there are two certificates on the image.
- Assuming a gender from a given name or a surname from a parent when there was none recorded on the document. This happens frequently on the amendments.
- Indexing information from one image into the fields of another image. For example, putting the names found on a correction or amendment image into the index for a birth certificate in which the child was unnamed.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I have an image which is a ‘Notice of Removal’. What should be done with it?
A. Index any image which is a "Notice of Removal'. Put the date in the date of birth fields and the county in the county field. Index the top certificate number.
Discuss This Project
There are several ways to ask questions or discuss this project. Choose your favorite:
- Click the Discussion link near the top right corner of this page.
- Go to this project's page on FamilySearch forums.
Note: You will need an LDS or FamilySearch account to add to these pages, which is the same as the user name and password used for indexing.
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- This page was last modified on 14 April 2013, at 23:15.
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