Familysearch citation source Question

[Seelife]

Hi Folks, Im sorry if this is a silly question.
I am using FamilySearch, Findmypast, Durhamrecordsonline, Freereg, and sometimes MyHeritage  etc etc. But I have found a number of trees on FS and myheritage that have errors along with missing or misquoted sources, so I get nervous about relying on the data.

So if I find on FS a person "Joe Blogs" and when you open the source for them and it says "Joe Blogs English Births and Christenings" and if I open that detail, there is a detail and Citation kind of like this :
Where The Record Is Found (Citation) "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (https://familysearch.org/ark:/12345/1:1:ABDC-1F6 : 21 March 2020), Joe Blogs, 1815"

Below there is detail of the record.
What I want to know is, is this record and detail a Transcription by helpers directly from records. Like, can I "assume" that this is REAL data from a hard copy somewhere. I see that in the Help on FS, it appears that FS have people that "index" and add records. My apologies if this is obvious, but I see many misuses of these Citations on MyHeritage.
Thanks for your patience and input.

[rosie99]

Is there no FHL film number quoted

[oldohiohome]

Try to trace the information as far back as you can to the original source.

I usually put a note with the information saying whether I got it from an image, a transcription, or just an index to the original record. Then I know what I am working with when I look at the information again.

I assume that if familysearch has an index or transcription of a set of records that someone has actually seen the originals and recorded the name, date, etc. In the example you gave, I think you can assume that someone named Joe Blogs was christened somewhere in England in 1815.

The indexers make mistakes, though, so sometimes the name doesn't get indexed correctly. Always look at an image if available.

The International Genealogy Index (IGi) on familysearch - if you ever run into it - has a lot of user-submitted information in it with no sources, so use with caution.

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One reason why there aren't always images on familysearch has to do with the terms of the contract they have with whatever government agency provided the records. Sometimes, at least with US records, the images will be there for a while and then removed.

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I don't know if that answers your question.
- The link in your post didn't open - I got "not found" or something similar.

[Seelife]

Ah, sorry, I doctored the link so "protect the innocent" as it were. Its a dummy link. But most of the examples I am looking at do not have images to compare to. Thats why I was being cautious.
If you can access it, here is a typical example.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/MXK1-23Q
Thanks

[oldohiohome]

Ah, sorry, I doctored the link so "protect the innocent" as it were. Its a dummy link. But most of the examples I am looking at do not have images to compare to. Thats why I was being cautious.
If you can access it, here is a typical example.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/MXK1-23Q
Thanks

That record looks pretty reliable to me, but who knows. I'd put it in my records and hope I either find the image it came from or find some other way to confirm it.
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Clicking on "View Source" on that page pops up a note that mentions the IGI. clicking on "Learn More" tells you something about that set of records.

clicking on the link takes you to the page with the transcription:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMRN-1F6?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=MXK1-23Q

on that page, if you click on "England Births and Christenings" you go here:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1473014

and on that page, clicking on "How to use this collection" takes you here:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_Births_and_Christenings_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records

which says "As this is an index of records compiled from various sources, it is strongly recommended that you verify any information you find with original records."

So that is the answer from the horse's mouth - trust but verify, I guess.

by the way, a search for IGI records" found this:

https://www.sog.org.uk/learn/hints-tips/how-to-get-the-best-results-from-the-igi/#:~:text=The%20IGI%20contains%20individual%20records,be%20added%20to%20the%20index.

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The things to really look out for in the familysearch tree are events with absolutely no source attached. Also having the wrong parents attached, just because they lived in the same US state for example. Or 15 children, including 5 born before the marriage, just because they all lived near each other.

[oldohiohome]

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/MXK1-23Q
Thanks

also - just because that event actually happened - a John Crags was baptized 1718 - doesn't mean it is the same John Crags that it is attached to in the tree, if you follow me. Someone could have worked backward and knew that their ancestor John Crags was born between 1715 and 1720. Then they saw this record and jumped to the conclusion that it had to be their man. 

There could have been more than one John Crags baptized within a few miles of each other in the same year for all we know. Or the man on the record could have been baptized as an adult. Or the ancestor they were looking for was baptized later as an adult, etc.
There were only so many surnames in any one small locality. Brothers might all name their first son after their father. Resulting in first cousins all named John Crags, all of the same generation.

Use the tree as a guide. It will help you find records you might not find otherwise, and often is reliable, but always prove it to your own satisfaction. I'd trust ancestry.com and myheritage trees less. At least on familysearch it is a group effort and you might have more than one person looking at the family and the records.

[Seelife]

Hi oldohiohome, I think you got what I was getting at. The record "may" be OK, but the use can be iffy. Thats what I am finding and raised my concerns.

"As this is an index of records compiled from various sources, it is strongly recommended that you verify any information you find with original records."

Quality and verify. Re Craggs, yep, there are several in the date range of interest. Luckily, he is not critical to my searches.