Swansea Vital Records: A Bungled Index

Date: [unknown] to 1850
Location: Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States
Surnames/tags: vital records Index

Failure to verify what is in an index will only lead to a growing collection of “former ancestors.” A so-called “index” of Book B of the vital records of Swansea, Massachusetts illustrates this. Previous researchers failed to verify an index that exists in three forms, and the results have corrupted numerous secondary sources and countless internet web sites, not to mention personal family research files.

The index was originally created by an unknown town clerk, probably in the late 1800’s, presumably to facilitate answering questions from “researchers” and save wear and tear on the original records. To call this an index is a misnomer: there are no references to the original page numbers in Book B. It gives birth and marriage data in one combined list, with many egregious errors. In the introduction to Book B the compiler of the published Swansea Vital Records observed: “As noted by Richard LeBaron Bowen, ‘when the town clerk compiled this list he used his imagination a great deal and included much not found in the original records, especially in coupling up marriages.’ The birthdate and parents of a given bride and/or groom as given in Mrs. Carter’s “publication” should be validated from some other source, as this compiler learned from experience. The clerk’s assumptions were often faulty.”

As alluded to above, the “index” was later “published” as a typescript copy. Ms. Carter, as her “publication” title indicates, was making a copy of the index, not attempting to correct the data therein. In her own Foreword to her index, Carter stated, “In studying this index, it would be safer to refer to the original record before accepting the data etc. here copied.” Note that neither her copy, nor the original, contain the page numbers of the original record, so to call this an index is playing very loosely with the usual meaning of the term.

Finally, at some point, the index (filmed version) was selected for “extraction” into the old International Genealogical Index (IGI). It’s been said that once in print, it lives forever. In the age of computers, databases, and the internet, it not only lives forever, it spreads everywhere.

The FamilySearch research wiki and Wikipedia describe the evolution of the International Genealogical Index (IGI) and won’t be repeated here. But from the wiki, there are two important points: first, “It contained several hundred million entries, each recording one event, such as a birth, baptism (christening), marriage, or death, and second, “The International Genealogical Index is a finding aid. Always check original sources.”

It’s also important to point out, the Wiki divides the IGI into two parts, “Indexed” and “Contributed.” “Indexed seems to be an updated (and perhaps more accurate) term for the “extracted” records. The indexed portion of the IGI is found at https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/igi. It’s free, and how can anyone argue with the phrase “extracted records.” And into that rabbit hole have fallen many unwary researchers. "Trust, but verify" is a phrase President Reagan used many times in his negotiations with General Secretary Gorbechev. It is sound advice for any genealogist.