Trying Indexing again

Since my mission in FamilySearch Support has ended I have a lot more free time. Like everyone else, I am basically confined to home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So I have been looking for things to do that are helpful in family history.

With a little encouragement, I decided to try FamilySearch Indexing again. Indexing allows me to make scanned copies of microfilmed records computer-searchable. I download a "batch" of images from FamilySearch.org by signing in and clicking the Indexing link at the top of the screen, Then I click Web Indexing and choose a batch to try. I have not needed to call the free support number for help, but it was comforting to know that it is available if I need  it. 1-866-406-1830

This is a little different from the previous version of Indexing which required me to install indexing software, which I believe also required having Java installed.  I like the change. 😊

Being a Canadian, I chose batches from Nova Scotia, but I ran out of these after about 4 days, so I switched to the 1851 census of Ontario. These are much faster and easier to do. They are generally easy to read, and each batch has a page of 50 names and a page with no names ("No extractable data") On census records you get to use the "ditto" key combination (ctrl+d) a lot, as members of a family have the same surname, and are usually born in the same place. Some fields in the template are missing in the records, these too can be dittoed. So far in the past two weeks I have indexed nearly 1000 names. When these are verified, the data is added to a Historical Records collection in FamilySearch and becomes computer-searchable, They also become available as source hints for documenting family members in the FamilySearch Family Tree. We love sources!

The FamilySearch website is accessible \to everyone with a free account. If you have some extra time, I encourage you to try indexing, I believe we have two weeks to complete any batch and submit it, so we can do it at our own pace. Two of the batches that I did had been started by other indexers but not completed. Their efforts were not wasted. I was able to carry on from where they left off. It is a good system!