Copied Parish Registers Viewed on Familysearch.org

By keepingupwithjones on Tue, 06/21/2022 - 20:04

Forums

I have read EE about both FHL preservation films and church record books that have been recopied. Neither entry in EE also includes online images. As such, I am stumped on how to cite a record that I found online at familysearch.org. It is a recopied parish register that is available to anyone online, has an FHL #, and also has a stable URL. How do I cite this?

Here is the stable URL: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3L-HJ98

I want to cite the entry for Benjamin, son of Mareen Duvall the Younger and Sarah his wife. I originally cited it as:

Benjamin Duvall, born 30 September 1717, Prince George’s Co., MD, 304; database and images, “Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3L-HJ98 : viewed 23 March 2022), image 459 of 483.

Should I add "Family History Library Film #007835978, item 3"? Should I add the parish in the citation? I am totally confused about when to cite the film, how to note that this record is a copied record, when to cite the parish, etc.

Thanks in advance for your expertise in understanding this!

Submitted byEEon Wed, 06/22/2022 - 06:19

Hello, keepingupwithjones.

The "preservation film" vs. "publication" distinction for FHL microfilm no longer exists when you use images published online. They are now published.

I'm assuming you have read EE's Chapter 7, which explicitly deals with church records.

Have you seen QuickLesson 25: ARKS, PALS, Paths, and Waypoints? (https://evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-25-arks-pals-paths-waypoints-citing-online-providers-digital-images)

This QuickLesson should help you think through the issues. You flagged one of them: the need to identify that parish. But there are others; and this QuickLesson specifically models parish registers used through FamilySearch.

And yes, you should add a layer to cite whatever detail FamilySearch tells you about its source.

You did not say what edition of EE you are using, but it you have any edition after 2012, you'll find a QuickStart Guide tipped into the front of the book on gray pages. This explains the basic structure of citations, how to start with a basic citation to a register and then (if using online images of the register) add a layer to identify the website at which you used the images. Once you learn this basic pattern, you can use it for almost everything you find.