Source entries and citations for the Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans series

I have many citations for the Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.  There are 19 volumes, each with a subtitle in this fashion: Volume 11, 1813-1815.

The first seven volumes have Earl C. Woods as editor, and Charles E. Nolan as associate editor.  The remaining volumes have Charles E. Nolan as editor, Dorenda Dupont as associate editor, and J. Edgar Bruns as translator.

The foreword content describes the series as an index to the original records, yet the content often provides such key content as parents' names, dates of events (births, deaths, etc.), grandparents, places of origin, relationships to witnesses and sponsors, etc.  One can order certificates for each, but they don't necessarily offer additional information.  (Please see the example of two derivatives for the same event.)  For this reason and the related expense, I do not always order church-issued certificates, despite the description of the volumes as being an index.  They seem to me to be an index-abstract hybrid.

So I need to cite 1) church records that seem to be abstracts but which seem to be considered index entries, 2) a multi-volume series with varying subtitles, and 3) an inconsistently edited and translated series.

I considered trying to combine the various applicable formats into one, but since I have so many, I want to be sure I don't find out there is a better format after using my own Frankenstein creation.  :)

I want to also note I am trying to use Family Tree Maker 2012 to streamline the addition of sources and references into the trees and reports the software makes available.  It took me a good week or so to find enough commentary online to understand how they intended the templates, source lists, citation detail, citation text, notes, and reference notes to be used.  I was very disappointed that the fine points were not made available to users who did not purchase the user guide as well.  All that to say, it seems to work well in theory, but the templates are not extensive enough, nor do they allow for details such as having "editor" in a source entry and the conversion to "ed." in the full references.  I was excited to see Mrs. Mills had offered input for the templates they offer, but I wish they had provided a broader variety or done more to allow the creation of new/customized templates.  :)

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Jenny

Submitted byEEon Sat, 10/20/2012 - 15:16

Jenny, the best way to cite that series is to cite it as a book—which it is. As you say, it's not really an index because it contains thousands of names that are not indexed. What it offers is translated abstracts that are taken out of their original order and rearranged alphabetically under an arbitrarily standardized spelling.

Your reference notes would identify the volume and page, and should include the source data that the series provides for each entry (i.e., the source of your source). Your bibliography entry (or master-source, as it is called in some software) would be to the whole series. In both cases, the multiple-editors problem is handled by citing the first two editors and then adding "et al."  

The handling of multi-authors, multi-volumes, etc., is handled in Chapter 12, "Publications: Books..."

 

Submitted byjbjacobyon Wed, 11/07/2012 - 11:43

I apologize for not replying sooner to thank you for your help with my posts a few weeks ago!  I was so excited to have light shed on my citations that I dove into them 110%!

I have completed many, many, and I'm so thankful this forum is available.  It's hard enough when you're new or dealing with a tricky source, but I think having a place to request assistance can help prevent "giving up."  :)

I tend to hyper-focus and obsess over the details, but I will definitely go back and re-read *slowly* the introductory information in EE re: understanding the concepts and purposes of the structures we should use.  I definitely think that will help keep me from wandering into the weeds and getting lost!

 

Thanks again for all of your help!

Jenny