Oxfordshire Records Online?

[smudwhisk]

Seems strange to refer back to OFHS when they are Ancestry's own transcriptions.  OFHS Facebook Group has post saying that Ancestry didn't want OFHS' transcriptions and did their own.

[CarolA3]

This is why I didn't want Ancestry involved.  OFHS and OHC must be terribly disappointed.

Carol

[smudwhisk]

This is why I didn't want Ancestry involved.  OFHS and OHC must be terribly disappointed.

Carol

To be honest, whether its Ancestry or FindMyPast, there are always issues.  FindMyPast made a real mess of Hertfordshire PRs and still haven't sorted out the problems.  There are also issues with the Welsh PRs.  It doesn't really matter who had them, there were always likely to be issues.  At least they are available now more widely.  There is nothing to stop people browsing the images and working through them, ie. the good old fashioned way of doing research.  As time goes on, if people continue adding corrections, then the indexes will improve.

[PrawnCocktail]

To be honest, whether its Ancestry or FindMyPast, there are always issues.  FindMyPast made a real mess of Hertfordshire PRs and still haven't sorted out the problems.  There are also issues with the Welsh PRs.  It doesn't really matter who had them, there were always likely to be issues.  At least they are available now more widely.  There is nothing to stop people browsing the images and working through them, ie. the good old fashioned way of doing research.  As time goes on, if people continue adding corrections, then the indexes will improve.

The annoying part is that it's so avoidable!

[coombs]

I have the Oxon marriage index and some OXFHS CD's so can still refer to them if I cannot find a likely marriage in the Ancestry records. I'd rather we had them on Anc than not as it will make it easier at least to find those Oxfordian ancestors. Also Oxon is one of my fave ancestral homelands as well. I went there last October and went to the RO.

[smudwhisk]

To be honest, whether its Ancestry or FindMyPast, there are always issues.  FindMyPast made a real mess of Hertfordshire PRs and still haven't sorted out the problems.  There are also issues with the Welsh PRs.  It doesn't really matter who had them, there were always likely to be issues.  At least they are available now more widely.  There is nothing to stop people browsing the images and working through them, ie. the good old fashioned way of doing research.  As time goes on, if people continue adding corrections, then the indexes will improve.

The annoying part is that it's so avoidable!

I agree.  Sadly all the 3rd party companies are these days as bad as each other.    There are similar problems with the Northamptonshire PRs on Ancestry.  I know from an exchange of emails with the RO that they had a "Project Manager" working with the Ancestry staff, yet it would appear that there wasn't much managing and monitoring going on do ensure the job was done properly with the scanning because there are a number of large gaps in some parishes.  As to the issues with transcription, sadly its all too common and one of the reasons why people shouldn't rely on transcripts and indexes only, something far too many seem to do, without checking originals.   Just look at the number of complaints on Ancestry's Facebook page about their "hints" not being very accurate.

[allisont]

I've seen a few burials where the date given is the date an affidavit was received later. Some interesting transcriptions of surnames even though the writing was perfectly clear, quite how Sewell became Severance or Smallbrook became Smallbones I have no idea...

[Pennie]

Having had an initial look around at the new Oxfordshire records on Ancestry, I think these will need to be used with some care!

As an "experiment" I took three of my 17th century WASTIE marriages that appear on the OFHS's Oxfordshire Marriage Index.  Two of them don't appear in the indexes and the one that does has the groom's surname incorrectly transcribed and gives the groom's place of residence where the bride's name should be!

Of the two that don't appear in the indexes, I've found one in the relevant parish register images.  Although the groom's name is hard to decipher, the bride's forename and surname are quite clear.  Searching again for the marriage under her name, there is nothing found on the index.

I was thinking (regretfully) that my marriage index CD would now be redundant ... but I think I shall still be using it!

[smudwhisk]

I was thinking (regretfully) that my marriage index CD would now be redundant ... but I think I shall still be using it!

I've been regularly referring to my Northamptonshire Baptism/Marriage/Burial Indexes since the registers went online on Ancestry.   Between the two I've managed to find things, but I'm still having to refer to them some months after their release (along with submitting numerous corrections).