Talk:FamilySearch Indexing:US, County Marriage Records, Project Updates

Help us improve the indexing and arbitration of this project. Click the Edit This Page button to make suggestions. Messages will be removed after careful review by support and any updates will be posted to the Project Updates page.

Many commonly asked questions, such as indexing crossed out information, have already been answered in the Basic indexing instructions.

Pennsylvania Marriage Records have a document called Application for Marriage License. It has a certificate number at the top and a page number at the bottom. The field helps say to index the page number when there is both, but I take that to mean on registers. Other documents in the batch may refer to the same marriage but have only a certificate number. It makes more sense to index the certificate number because the page number is essentially meaningless in the circumstances. Please clarify this issue. Share batch 151295982 for an example. Thanks. It looks like I'm not the only one with a question about this -- but I'm not real sure what your answer was. We will check but cannot get an answer until Monday.

Please add answer to update pages. I just posted the same question on the forum re: PA marriages - Do we index the cert. # ? or page below.? . The question above about "Recorded on Mo/Day/Yr, Book _______, Page ________. relates to several other states as well..

posted on forum: I am indexing a batch of PA marriages and have a few questions about page / cert. numbers. Please see share batch 151384451.

1) Image 2-1 has a number at the top and below a docket with a page number Post docket no. ___ pg. ____ (I have seen this in other states, but do not remember a definitive answer) 2) Image 4-1 has the same number at the one at the top of 2-1

Which of these numbers should be indexed or should neither be indexed?


 * I believe per the instructions that we are only to index the page number when it is the page number of the document we are indexing, not a reference to the page number where that document was recorded in another place. Just like when we are indexing an index, we don't index the page number shown in the index entry -- we index the page number the index entry is found on. So disregarding the page number reference, we are left with the certificate/license number--Garymaher 14:51, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

Gary -- Thank you for that answer which is reasonable. The images seem to have moved beyond the batches I was speaking of, but the indexers were very confused and trying to follow the directions to index page number. I was hoping that I was indexing/arb correctly but began to wonder. :)

Marriage Cancelled or Not Executed

How is the best way to index this? Do I say no extractable data, or is there another way to handle this? Please index these records.