FreeBMD - Adding Postems

[Emma]

I sometimes wonder whether it would be useful if when you are CERTAIN that a particular couple say in a set of 4 results in a bmd marriage search are the correct partners it might be useful to add a postem under the info section to confirm this so that it would eliminate them for a subsequent researcher ...not sure if I have explained this particularly well!

 

[Liberty]

I sometimes wonder whether it would be useful if when you are CERTAIN that a particular couple say in a set of 4 results in a bmd marriage search are the correct partners it might be useful to add a postem under the info section to confirm this so that it would eliminate them for a subsequent researcher ...not sure if I have explained this particularly well!

You're quite clear - and it sounds like a good point. I've certainly added a postem whenI know the (correctly transcribed) index entry has spelt a name wrongly, but this is something a bit more. Do you want to contact the organiser of FreeBMD and ask if they would like us to start doing that? we could start a trend!

 

[Emma]

You're quite clear - and it sounds like a good point. I've certainly added a postem whenI know the (correctly transcribed) index entry has spelt a name wrongly, but this is something a bit more. Do you want to contact the organiser of FreeBMD and ask if they would like us to start doing that? we could start a trend!

Good point! I'd like to know what Peter and some of the more experienced members think .....?

 

[Tim]

Good point! I'd like to know what Peter and some of the more experienced members think .....?

Far be it for us to stop you contacting anyone, if you feel it's a useful idea then submit it to them.

However, I did transcribe pages there for quite a long time, and you can appreciate that there is a catch 22 with what you suggest and their current ethos. They transcribe purely what they can see on the images. If the names are wrong in the entry because you know the family history, they won't change (rightly so) because they're typing what was entered at the time. This is the same for Ancestry and FindMyPast. However, with Ancestry you can add user comments, which is great and they appear in searches. So, maybe FreeBMD will add it, but they might just say its not on the cards....

 

[Alexander Bisset]

However Tim, what Emma is suggesting is that when you see an index of 4 individuals you know that male A married female C or D, and that male B married female C or D but you can never be sure which it is unless you have subsequently traced the family and proved which male married which female. Now from what I understand of Emma's post she is suggesting that adding a note to a marriage record saying male A married female D and male B married female C would be a great help to future researchers.

That is extra information and not a correction of anything on the original records.

 

[Emma]

However Tim, what Emma is suggesting is that when you see an index of 4 individuals you know that male A married female C or D, and that male B married female C or D but you can never be sure which it is unless you have subsequently traced the family and proved which male married which female. Now from what I understand of Emma's post she is suggesting that adding a note to a marriage record saying male A married female D and male B married female C would be a great help to future researchers.

That is extra information and not a correction of anything on the original records.

Thanks Alexander, that was what I was saying - certainly not casting aspersions on the bmd transcriptions for which we're all extremely grateful. Do you think it's worth a mention?

 

[Alexander Bisset]

I'd suggest yes its worth a mention. Its not an issue in Scottish records as we have the full images of the registers rather than just an index, thus I've not had much experience with how annoying the problem can be. However it sounds like a really good idea.

 

[Tim]

However Tim, what Emma is suggesting is that when you see an index of 4 individuals you know that male A married female C or D, and that male B married female C or D but you can never be sure which it is unless you have subsequently traced the family and proved which male married which female. Now from what I understand of Emma's post she is suggesting that adding a note to a marriage record saying male A married female D and male B married female C would be a great help to future researchers.

I realise completely what Emma was suggesting, and often thought about it myself. It will be interesting to see what their reply is.

That is extra information and not a correction of anything on the original records.

I know. It would also be useful if they mentioned who the kids were.
If someone you don't know adds who they believe is the spouse, will you actually believe it and stop doing your own research?

 

[Liberty]

If someone you don't know adds who they believe is the spouse, will you actually believe it and stop doing your own research?

I'm not sure that I would BELIEVE it, (i.e I would look in the next census to see if the names fitted) but I would find it cheering.
I am sure some people will just accept, in the same way you see very flimsy arguments being propagated from one family tree (or web discussion) to another

 

[Tim]

I'm not sure that I would BELIEVE it, (i.e I would look in the next census to see if the names fitted) but I would find it cheering.
I am sure some people will just accept, in the same way you see very flimsy arguments being propagated from one family tree (or web discussion) to another

You're right, it would be cheering to have your own work confirmed. Maybe they could have it as a little Hint icon? So if you get stuck, you could press it and then see what over people think?

I've edited your post slightly, when you use the reply feature (which is what you should do to keep continuity), you need to keep everything that's in between the square brackets [ ] at the start of the post and at the end of the post.

 

[Margery]

Pushing in, excuse me Margery M of K scroll to top, left hand side where the bar becomes black, click on members, it will give you a few options, 'registered members', 'current visitors', and 'recent activity' I find it useful to check the 'recent activity' as it gives me an indication of what has been posted on threads I have not ticked as watch or replied to.

No worries JA, though I just see the names of the members logged on when I do just that - log on. Up on the right hand side. Also shows how many visitors.

 

[Cathy]

Perhaps I'm too tired and should go to bed - but who is stopping anyone adding postem notes to FreeBMD? The facility is there. You just have to use it. Adding a note when you know who the marriage partner is is a good idea but not something I do. On the other hand I always send in corrections when I find transcription errors. I transcribed for FreeBMD for a time but stopped because at the time they insisted on you transcribing from their poor images when I had access to much better ones and it seemed a poor use of time. I think they changed policy later.
From their site: A Postem is a note left by someone about this record - the content of the postem is determined by the person who left it. FreeBMD can offer no assurance about the postem and will not enter into correspondence about it.

 

[Tim]

Perhaps I'm too tired and should go to bed - but who is stopping anyone adding postem notes to FreeBMD?

I don't think anyone is saying that. The discussion was around whether it was useful to add a partner's name in the Postem field.
Unfortunately, the discussion has gone off topic which was originally to discuss search tips whilst using FreeBMD.

 

[peter]

FreeBMD are very stringent about changes to their transcriptions - they have the same policy as findmypast. But there are no restrictions on postems, indeed they make the point that they aren't going to be read by any of the project team.

And to get this discussion back on topic, searching postems is a tip!

 

[Miranda]

The only time I will add a Postem to FreeBMD is when I have purchased a wrong certificate and I have quite a few of those. I will add as much information as I can from the cert.

 

[Heather]

There is also the case where there can be an odd number of entries, eg 4 males and 5 females. If you can solve the mystery and add a postem, I'm sure future researchers will thank you for it. As always if you find a postem on the entry you are searching for, it is good practice to check and double check that the information on the postem is correct. What is the old saying used by woodworkers and the like , "measure twice, cut once".

 

[Liberty]

I put one in the other day. The index quite clearly said xxx 1180 for the groom, and the transcriber had indicated that this wasn't in the expected sequence of pages for place/date. I found the bride at xxx 1130 (along with 1 man and another woman) so put a postem at the entry for the groom. Civil duty done?

 

[Cathy]

When the entry is wrong, I look it up and post a correction. Often you can see it on the FreeBMD scans now as they've better scans than when they started. I transcribed for awhile and you weren't allowed to transcribe from any other image than the one they provided even if you had access to a clearer one, so I gave up as it was far too frustrating. They ended up changing their policy - and having better scans.

 

[alanmack]

I too post corrections - hundreds of them. Any image I've downloaded I check against the database before 'binning' it. Commonly thirty errors on a single page might be explained by having only the poor images but it doesn't maintain your confidence in the database. GIGO.

I've had the odd disagreement with the management but my biggest beef is the lack of a system to draw their attention to spurious entries. These are caused by double keying and one entry is wrong in some non-critical respect. All you can do is submit a correction which probably gets their backs up. That may be why they've stopped responding to my corrections!

Getting back to the postem point, which I've seen promoted elsewhere, and a minor note of caution. FreeBMD operate with the blessing of the GRO. I expect this policy is to encourage the sales of certificates. Postems which might reduce the need for the purchase of a certificate might well not be regarded with unbounded joy in Southport, making life more difficult for FreeBMD if taken up to any great extent.

 

[Welshlass]

I sometimes wonder whether it would be useful if when you are CERTAIN that a particular couple say in a set of 4 results in a bmd marriage search are the correct partners it might be useful to add a postem under the info section to confirm this so that it would eliminate them for a subsequent researcher ...not sure if I have explained this particularly well!

Great idea & wish more people would do this IF they are certain. Have done it myself & would certainly appreciate it from others.