FindMyPast Index for Flintshire

[Jane Lucas]

Can anyone explain how FindMyPast have indexed the bmd Registers, particularly around Northop, Flint and Mold?
If I search Flintshire Marriages 1700s/early 1800s, why do I get results that are indexed for Connah’s Quay, Bagilt, Bistre, Hawarden, Whitford etc.. ? Specifically I have one for 21 Setp 1828 Edward Griffith and Mary Ellis which is indexed for Connah’s Quay, Northop. But there wasn’t a church in CQ at that time.  I assumed the marriage took place at Northop. An enquiry to Flintshire Record Office confirmed this from their Hayes Index. So why does FindMyPast say Connah’s Quay? There are no clues in the Register to place of residence, not even a ‘hamlet’.
The same applies to burials and christenings .. the Index gives place names that are not mentioned in the Register. The residence places that are named are ones you’d expect like Soughton, Caerfallwch etc. Maybe those are the ‘hamlets’ nearest to the place names they have used. But in my specific example there are no clues to residence whatsoever.
I keep finding this when I think the only possible place the event can have taken place is St. Eurgain, Northop or either of the two Parish churches in Mold And Flint (both St. Mary).
Where do FindMyPast find the evidence to use village names in their Index when there appears to be no evidence in the Register.
Sorry if I’m being dim... but this has been puzzling me for some while. If I could see the front page/cover of the Registers it might help to explain this but I haven’t worked out a way to do that without scrolling back dozens of pages every time.

[Gadget]

Hi Jane

This is the page explaining the sources:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/world-records/search-all-uk-records/special-collections/the-wales-collection

The same thing seems to happen in Denbighshire - I know that the Clwyd FHS pruduced booklets appear to be more accurate.

Gadget

[Jane Lucas]

Hi Gadget.. thanks. I still don't understand it! Have they just plucked the biggest town in the area to use in the Index?
I have a couple of the Clwyd FHS booklets. Unfortunately they mostly stop at 1812. Civil Reg didn't start until 1837, so for those few years I have to rely on FindMyPast and any that are not Northop 1750-1812, (the only booklets I have so far).  So I encounter this problem every time I search further afield. It is quite misleading and often means I search every record in a search result. Very time consuming.
If/when I get to recognise the register images themselves as belonging to a specific church it might be easier. 
Thanks again.
Jane

[Gadget]

Hi again

I think that I have a partial explanation as Connah's Quay is in a similar relationship to Northop as a couple of the Denbs parishes that are jumbled (e.g. Brymbo/Wrexham and Pontfadog/Llangollen). Not all are wrongly allocated though, which makes it more frustrating. In some cases the records seem to have been mis-filed or mis-labelled and have then been allocated to the wrong parish.   I have sometimes been able to get back to a page which clearly labels the parish but it's sometimes very difficult.

I see from Genuki that:

The new parish of Connah's Quay was created on 31 January 1844, from the townships of Wepre, Golftyn, Kelsterton, Leadbrook Major and Leadbrook Minor (all formerly in the parish of Northop).

and

The church of St. Mark, Connah's Quay was consecrated on 16 August 1837, initially as a district church within the parish of Northop.

"On Wednesday week, the new Church of St. Mark, at Connah's Quay, was consecrated by the Bishop of St. Asaph.
The building was raised by voluntary subscription to supply the want of church room, for the increasing population of a large district in the parish of Northop. It is calculated to hold about 600, and is finished with a neatness and taste which reflect the highest credit on all who have been concerned in its erection."
[From The Chester Chronicle of 25 August 1837]

I've looked at the 2 records for your Griffiths/Ellis marriage and both are clearly of Northop parish in the images.


Gadget

[wrjones]

There was a very informative article about these Parish Records included by Find My Past in Hel Achau the Journal of Clwyd FHS.
http://www.clwydfhs.org.uk/helachau.htm

Regards
William Russell Jones.

[Gadget]

Which issue. WR?  I've had a clear out but can't remember reading about them there 

[wrjones]

Which issue. WR?  I've had a clear out but can't remember reading about them there 

Not sure but an email to the Editor would be useful.


Regards
William Russell Jones.

[Gadget]

Easier to go to the Clwyd-L list - August 2013

The June issue of 'Hel Achau' contains a three page article by John
Ingman on how bad a job Find My Past have done!

I was in middle of moving house so I might have archived this issue  in recycling 


Added - also info re County Archivists writing a joint letter to FindMyPast complaining but nothing being done!

[Jane Lucas]

Thank you both very much... at least I know it isn’t me being dim and missing something obvious.. For the Ellis/Griffith marriage I did just wonder if they’d nipped down to Connah’s Quay to try out the new Church!
It would have been so easy for FindMyPast to have included the name of the Parish Church to which the Register belongs, then there would be no ambiguity. Without the Index, which is in any case clearly wrong, they could be marrying on the moon for all you would know from the image. It rather looks as though whoever prepared the Index didn’t know his geography/Parish History.
At least I know now I will have to check all possible entries remotely linked to the Parish in question...
I’ll check out the article on the Clwyd FHS site.. I’ve only just joined so no back copies here.
Thanks again
Jane