IGI - Complete?

[Ewan]

If I can't find an ancestor's details on the IGI (familysearch) is there a chance that they can be found at a record office?  In other words is the IGI online complete?

Ewan

[Necromancer]

Its by no means complete country-wide .... the parish you are interested in might be tho.

Try searching the IGI with this front-end (which in turn is a bit out of date)


http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/

also you can look in the FamilySearch site for particulars of records held for a parish church, and compare with whats been indexed and whats in the county archives repository .... which you can find with Google or similar ...

 

[Ewan]

Thanks  Newfy

Had a look on the website you suggested no ancestor there, hope that these records are incomplete.

Thanks
Ewan



 

[Pels.]

Hi Ewan,

The relevant records office is your only hope because the IGI is far from complete.

From my personal experience, when I compare the IGI to the wealth of parish records which are kept at the archives, there's no competition I'm afraid.

Pels

[kerryb]

Even the Hugh Wallis which is a real boon has large gaps and can be frustrating.  As Pels says no competition.

Just one more reason why if you can and are able a visit to a record office is a must, if you are within distance of course!

kerry

[Ewan]

Thank you all for your answers.

After looking for some records on the IGI, I was disappointed that names were not there that I was hoping to see, and I was not sure whether they were complete or not.  Off to the records office then, here we go.

Ewan

[trish251]

Hi Ewan

Living in Australia, I am envious of you being able to go "off to the record office" 

For areas where you are not so easily able to do this, check the film library on the family search site
(which is not working in my world at the minute so I can't give you a link). The LDS have films of MANY parishes that have not been indexed on the IGI. You can then visit your local LDS centre & order and view these films - not as good as the Records Office, but the best for those of us living far distant from same.

Trish

[kerryb]

Good idea Trish, and one I really ought to take up for some of my further flung ancestors across the UK, there is an LDS centre quite close to me!

The link for finding your local centre:
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp

Kerry

[Ewan]

Thank you Trish and Kerry

I did not know that the films from the LDS would have more to see than online, so that is very useful to know.  I feel very lucky to live in England where record offices are more accessible than they would be if I lived somewhere else.  Saying 'off to the record offfice' was really a figure of speech then, I do go to London to look at parish records once a year with a coach going to the FRC, but when the FRC move next year I don't know if they will continue to drop off at the LMA.  I have made 4/5 trips to record offices in the last 10 years, so not as much as I would like to.  So I do feel for those people not in the UK who cannot travel to a record office so easily.

All the best
Ewan