Source Type

[Frank Zwolinski]

I am just curious as to what others do in this case. I have just entered a source from the California Birth Index and wonder if I should list the Source Type as a "Vital Record or a "Government Record?"
Thanks,
Frank

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Source Type

I use neither of those. My records are mostly from England and France - you would have to tell me what the US equivalents are. I use ‘Registrar’ for vital records made by government officials, and ‘Parish Record’ for those made by ecclesiastics. In England, registration begins in 1837, and it is much harder to trace people before that date. In France it is easier, because the parish records were all gathered up by the state soon after the Revolution, and therefore are found in the same archives, but still there is a profound change in format. The fields typically needed for a Parish Record are a little different from those for a Registration, so it seemed worth making separate source types.

[jbastin]

Re: Source Type

I am just curious as to what others do in this case. I have just entered a source from the California Birth Index and wonder if I should list the Source Type as a "Vital Record or a "Government Record?"
Thanks,
Frank

I don't have a source called "Government Record," that must have been something you created at some time.

I always enter birth and death records from the state as "Vital Record" sources.

Hope this helps.

[rclrocco]

Re: Source Type

I use Vital Record as my source type for Births. Sometimes from an actual Certificate - mostly British so far - but also from an index or other listing. Same applies for Marriages and Deaths

[gathompson56]

Re: Source Type

I have created source types based upon the amount of detail they contain. For example:

Death register: a government register of deaths with a number of records per page.
Death certificate: single death per page with much more detail than the register.

You might want to create a source type called "birth index". The source type can always be changed at a later date without changing the source information. Lumping is easier than splitting.

[Frank Zwolinski]

Re: Source Type

Thanks folks, Good uggestions.
F