Hello again Lass & AMBLY,
Well, I've seen some monumental LDS
indexing "stuff-ups" in my time but this one takes the cake
I hasten to add that I am a huge admirer of the genealogical indexing which has been done by the LDS - our research would be impossible without the wonderful records which they make available online and through their family history centres. I am ever grateful to them.
The old "controlled extraction program" of the LDS was excellent with very few errors
But quality control on batches inserted in recent years seems to be non-existent e.g. wrong places obviously entered and "filled down" with no checking at all. I've pointed some of them out to the LDS (email contact on Familysearch) but there seems to be a complete lack of comprehension coupled with an almost total unwillingness to investigate, explain, improve, correct, etc ...
I had checked out the source and film notes before posting the following earlier:
The baptism of a son, Jose David BALHARRY, to David B & Benigna in 1878 in San Isidro, Santiago, Chile is in the IGI - perhaps that actual record might reveal something (occupation of that David B, godparents, etc?). I guess the film/fiche could be ordered in to your local LDS Family History centre.
But it hadn't occurred to me to check whether the same entry appeared in other countries - why on earth would it! How fortunate, Lass, that you found names and dates for siblings (as well as him) in this batch which idiotically purports to come from "Milton-Bryant"!
Just to elaborate on the whole
indexing mess, the South American and the Milton-Bryant batches each have the same batch number and the same source number. The source number (1798170), of course, leads in both instances to the Chilean source.
However ...
- if one looks at the batch number (C003791) selecting South America as the region, one gets a list of 1558 names all in San Isidro
- if one looks at the same batch number (C003791) but selecting British Isles as the region, one gets a list of 3058 names (i.e. apparently including the 1558 but also with additional entries) and all purporting to be in "Milton-Bryant, Bedfordshire"! Incidentally, all are pretty obviously South American names.
One wonders how any data entry person, however inexperienced, could have managed so many errors at once!!
This is obviously a widespread problem ...
I tried the next batch number - C003792.
This produces a list of baptisms purporting to be in Milton-Bryant, Bedfordshire. But a quick check finds that it's pretty obviously a mixed list of Anglo names (all typed in upper case) and likely South American names (all typed in lower case).
The source number leads to Milton-Bryant records.
However, take one of the likely South American names - say Felipa BALQUI.
Search for Felipa in All Resources - there are two records, one is the one purporting to be in "Milton-Bryant" and the other is for Peru. The Peru one has a different batch number (C023844) and is a list of baptisms in Amazonas, Peru - it has no source number at all ...
That noise you hear is JAP pulling her hair out while sighing in utter despair because past experience shows that there is absolutely no point in drawing all the above errors to the LDS ... Even LDS members who run Family History centres get no joy when they try ...
Anyway, the whole point of the above is to say "Forget Milton-Bryant!" - and best not to mention it to the Chileans. It is clearly just another of the increasing numbers of LDS
indexing errors. I guess just be grateful for the additional names of Jose David's sibling - however flawed the location.
All the best,
JAP
PS: Well, I've submitted a Contact Form on the FamilySearch site reporting this particular mess - rather more bluntly than on previous occasions. But don't hold your breath.