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FHL DGS 7595725 ("Town and vital records, 1727-1892") (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9NW-RK5) includes images of a volume entitled "Births, Marriages, Deaths: Town of Kennebunk" (book cover is image 7). This appears to be, at least in part, a Record Copy (EE, 1st ed., 1.27 and 8.5), rather than an original register, based on my assessment that over 100 years of birth records (1745-1883, images 11-59) appear to be in the same handwriting. Having said that, there are many additional entries, especially in the later years, that are of others' writing. Some of these are noted as "depositions" (e.g. image 61, and as noted in the film's description in the catalog at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/137047?availability=Family%20History%20Library). It also appears a town clerk (later?) added indexes of these entries (images 104, 85, 312 for B,M,D respectively), dated 1918. I say later because it looks like the indexes were added where space was available, with the marriage index preceding the marriage entries and the other indexes following their entries.
Since the book cover/title is shown on the film, I plan to cite the book in layer 1, with the website in layer 2. So, finally, the question is, would EE cite this per the QuickCheck Model for "Local Records: Vital Records Register" (for layer 1)? That is, I'm looking at the guidance in 8.5: "... record copies officially created and maintained by public record offices are treated as 'original' records, when the actual original is not known to exist." (The catalog entry cites the Kennebunk Town Clerk as author.) Seems I should capture, perhaps as a note to the citation, some of my observations per the above. Does this source qualify as a record copy and simply use the QuickCheck Model?
Of interest, a second register, untitled, on this film, beginning at image 334, does appear to be an original. I have yet to review that register to see if perhaps it contains my person of interest.
Thanks,
Jeff
Jeff, you asked: would EE…
Jeff, you asked:
Jeff, yes and not necessarily. With regard to question 1, there's also 9.43 that specifically deals with New England Town registrations of vital events.
Re question 2: It's good that you are analyzing your sources so carefully. The book you describe is not "the usual," but it is also not uncommon. Many times, past clerks have recopied older registers that were damaged by age; then, once the copying was done, they and their successors would proceed to use the rest of the register for current entries. The entries therein will be partially derivative (in which case the original may or may not have been preserved) and partially original.
Thank you for pointing out…
JeffH13, your Layer 1 works…
JeffH13, your Layer 1 works fine—i.e.
Kennebunk, Maine, "Births, Marriages, Deaths - Town of Kennebunk", marriages section, p. 87, entry no. 10, Melvin F. Wormwood & Jennie Stevens, 1871;
Problems begin with Layer 2.
; … database record "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1674915 : accessed 28 July 2021), imaged in digitized film (DGS) 7595725 ("Town and vital records, 1727-1892") > image 201; …
Four issues here:
So, what would EE cite: data page or actual image? Since you’ve used the image, EE would cite the image. If, on the other hand, you were not able to access the imaged original for some reason and the data page was all that was available to you for the time being, then that is what you’d cite. Citing the image would create this Layer 2:
; imaged by FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4F6-PY5 : accessed 28 July 2021), digital film 007595725 > image 201;
I suspect that what you were trying to do here is to recreate, in your citation, the whole process you went through to find the image. But let's look at it another way: If you were citing a record in a brick-and-mortar archive, would you cite all the process you went through to find that record? No. You'd make a clear and direct citation to the exact record you used. With online images, that has an added advantage. If you cite the exact "ark," you or anyone else can go straight to that iamge without re-expending all the time that it took to find the image in the first place.
Your Layer 3 consists of:
; … citing Town Clerk’s office.
When I examine the film, I do not see a citation to the repository. This digital film was made from an earlier microfilm (FHL no. 11326) which begins with a target created by the filmers that reads: “Town of Kennebuck, York County, Record of Births – Deaths Marriages,” but it does not cite the office. The next frame of the film says that it was microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, “At Kennebunk, ME” on July 25, 1956, but again it does not identify the office. Given what we are provided, a more precise layer 3 would be this:
…; imaged from GSU microfilm 11326, 25 July 1956.
All in all, EE’s citation (putting each layer in a different color) would be this:
Kennebunk, Maine, "Births, Marriages, Deaths—Town of Kennebunk," marriages section, p. 87, entry no. 10, Melvin F. Wormwood & Jennie Stevens, 1871; imaged by FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4F6-PY5 : accessed 28 July 2021), digital film 007595725 > image 201; imaged from GSU microfilm 11326, 25 July 1956.
You’ll also notice three wee tweaks in red, made for these reasons:
Hope this helps.
One of my key takeaways from…
Citing to the exact image…
Citing to the exact image would work just as well. One of the advantages that the pursuit of history has over engineering is that we have much more flexibility. Of course the corresponding disadvantage is that the properties of what we're dealing with have much variance also.
I keep losing carriage…