Mistakes in Parish Records

[MaryA]

Of course we wish you luck Sherlock and we know exactly what you mean, since our hobby is all about investigations 

Don't forget to let us know what you turn up, fingers crossed for those extra details.

Mary

[jillruss]

I hope it's okay to ask yet another question about the LDS films.

If they are films of the PRs, why is it that there can be some missing? I'm thinking of a recent case-

According to the IGI, Eton in Bucks is covered for the period I was searching for the baptism of Elizabeth Allen, but she wasn't there. I later requested a name search from Bucks FHS (fantastic service) and there she was - baptised in Eton in 1779!

Will Elizabeth be on the film even though she's not on the website? If not, any idea why?

Jill.

[trish251]

Hi Jill

Regarding your last question - not every film that the LDS have is included in the IGI; There could also have been errors when the index was being transcribed so some entries may be missing; there are also a number of batches that contain females only - yet the films contain both sexes; Sometimes the LDS have both the parish registers and the Bishop's transcripts and have only indexed the later - I have found a couple of errors in BTs - another level of transcription 

When you are looking at the films, check the burials - these are not indexed by the LDS so having the film is a chance to look for death information as well as births and marriages.

I have  encountered one error in a register where the Father's name was correct but the mother incorrect. The person listed as mother was actually the grandmother (she was over 60 years old at the time of the baptism AND the child's middle name was that of his real mother's maiden name; so had to be an error).

Trish

[stonechat]

I have a ckear case where the original handwritten PR is incorrect.

It gives adfferent mother for my gt gt gt grandfather James to his other siblings.

All other oevidence supports him being a fulll brother to Albert

NO other James Douglasses married in Chertsey. In addition my grandfather's notes support his having same father

So I believe PRs can be wrong

[MaryA]

There is another point to take note of when you check the entries and that is the "Abode" column if there is one.

I recently searched for a baptism and discovered that there wasn't a church in the village at the time I was interested in, ceremonies apparently took place at the church in the next village about 2 miles away.

There were many entries with the same surname and I thought I might not be able to identify the one I was interested in, but the "Abode" column helped me clarify the entry since I gave the village I wanted.  It's worth comparing the entry you are puzzled over with the others and make sure all other details match, not every column is noted on the IGI.

Mary

[quizmaster]

Probably worth pointing out that some FHS have parish records available on fiche or CDRom. However, they do depend upon the skill of the person doing the transcribing and  whilst some people are rightly remembered for their high accuracy, that is not always the case. As they are dealing with parish clerks of varying degrees of literacy, we must make allowances, but the key thing is to make your own mind up by consulting the original record.

[sarra]

Here's more information for what it's worth.
If you have found the entry for your Ancestor on the IGI - where it says  Source Information: Source Call Number -  click on to the appropriate year -  You will then see what is available - Parish Records - BT's etc.
Sarra