searching LDS films

[Poipuo4]

I am going to search through my first LDS microfilm this weekend. I have my great grandfather's birth extract, with the relevant names of his parents and his date of birth. Can someone explain to me the method of working backwards through the film to get info. on his parents? Do I start searching say sixteen years prior to his birth for his parents' birth? Are there some guidlines for finding other relatives in the films, such as his brothers and sisters? Do I just look through each year for like ten years before and after his birth?

Thanks for any guidance!

[nuccia]

I found the easiest way to search the films is to go to the index of each year and look for the name. Most are at the front but some are at the end of the film for each year. Once I locate the name I go back to the Birth Act # and have a look to see if its the record I want.

Does this help?

[Poipuo4]

Yes, that sounds quite helpful that there is an index. I did not have a clear picture of how they were indexed, but if it is by name, that should be very helpful.

[jcsm400]

The birth act for your great granfather will have his parents ages at the time of his birth. By deducting their age from year of birth, you will have a good year to start looking for the birth acts of your gr. gr. grandparents. For marriage acts, start with year of birth year or the previous year & go backwards.

Hope this helps, too.

jcsm

[VaDeb]

I have also found you have to take some time and become familar with the index. They are not all the same. I have found indexes the following ways:

Alphabetically by first name
Alphabetically by last name
By date
By birth act number

It can also take an adjustment to the way the numbers and dates are written. It just takes some evaluation and practice. You may also find the method of indexing changes through the years. Some indexes may even list the surname of the mother with the child.

Debbie

[nuccia]

Great advice from Nonna and Debbie..they're both experts at films and have much more experience then I do with them.

Heres a copy of one of the Birth Indexes...just so you have an idea of what it might look like.



and heres a copy of a Birth Act..but its an earlier one. The later ones are easier to read..This one is in bad shape and looks darker then it actually reads. I usually end up cleaning them up a bit on my PC using a photoshop program or Paint.

http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/7179 ... aceje8.png

I'll post a link to the translation of the Acts as well for you to print out. Makes it easier to understand what you're looking at..

http://www.comunesofitaly.org/Links/RuthNerud.htm

Nonna, Debbie..Can you think of anything to add to this? Keep thinking I missed something.

[Poipuo4]

YOU ARE AWESOME!!!! Thanks so much! I was a little intimidated by the entire process, especially because I am JUST learning to read Italian. Thank you also for showing me what an index can look like.

[nuccia]

No problem. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. We're here to help.

[sheronb]

Hi all, when i went to look at the birth records for 1872, in Sora, there was no index, i gather this is quite rare, but it made it so hard, but at that time my Italian was nil, but now after 6 months of Italian lessons, and reading other old Italian documents, id probally cope with no index!!

[jcsm400]

Not all indexes give the act number. Mine show date of the event.....some are semi alphabetical by 1st names & others are by surname..... Always expect the unexpected????? & .

[brujaojos]

Hi Everyone,

Not all films have indexes. It's pot luck! Some do! Some don't! However, the more familiar you get with the films, the more the surname you are looking for will pop out!

Also, about indexes on microfilm:

The 16mm film (skinny film roll) has it's indexes at the end of the Acts. (ex: 1872 Birth Acts, then 1872 Index for Birth).

On the 35mm film (fat film roll), the indexes are at the beginning. (ex: Index 1872 - Birth Acts for 1872).

Everyone is correct in tell you to start with the person born most recent (ex: born 1889) and work backwards. Once you get the age of the parents, you just subtract it from the child's birth year in order to figure out when the parents were born and married. Remember, women married young and could be 16 when they were married.

Now from a Birth Act you will get the name of the child, the date of birth of the child, the hour the child was born, and it could list the street the child's family lived. Depending on the year, it will list the Baptismal date of the child and the Church's name that the Baptism took place.

Also on the Birth Act, it will list the father's name, the father's age, the father's occupation, the mother's name, it could list the mother's age, it could list the mother's occupation.

And if a the person writing the record was "really into his job", there could be added information like grandfathers' names - ex: Giuseppe Greco di Antonio (Giuseppe son of Antonio {who is alive}). So you never know what you might find on the film.

Just take your time! You can do it! And we are here is you have questions.

I hope this helps!
Trish

[VaDeb]

Here is a link to help translate the records you find. Gives good examples of the many "styles" of records as they change throught the years.

http://www.comunesofitaly.org/Links/Tips.htm

Debbie

[wldspirit]

I still hope that one day I'll be able to use this resource!!
Maybe I could adopt a family from a town that has been microfilmed!!

It's great to see all the examples of actual records!!

wldspirit

[Poipuo4]

I am back from my first trip to the LDS center. Thank you so much for all of your help. I could not have done it without you guys! Being able to see what an actual index looked like before I sat down to do the research really helped. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. However, I did find my great grandfather and I discovered one sibling. I found another sibling but I need to return to look at her birth act again.

[nuccia]

I am back from my first trip to the LDS center. Thank you so much for all of your help. I could not have done it without you guys! Being able to see what an actual index looked like before I sat down to do the research really helped. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. However, I did find my great grandfather and I discovered one sibling. I found another sibling but I need to return to look at her birth act again.

That's great! Thanks for coming back and letting us know how you made out! Are you using a genealogy program to keep track of your info or are you using family group sheets? If you don't already have a plan on how your going to organize your research it will quickly get out of hand! I've spent several weekends this years cleaning up and organizing all my records which I collected over the years.