Genealogy Chat

A thread just now discussed going to a LDS centre and asking them to get the parish records for a particular area. Are their records exactly the same as the net ones available under the Genealogy section? I find there are so many gaps that it is rare to get a direct line for one particular section of a family, so I trotted off to the local record centre (County) to check and fill in the gaps, but found that where LDS had a gap it was because the records at the county centre were in such a bad state that I couldn't read them there either. Are there more records available at the LDS centres?

Hi, A list of everything the LDS had filmed is available in their cataloge on the familysearch website. Gwynne

I believe the records are the same but the films often carry more information than was recorded on the IGI records. This could be info like ages at marriage, parents names, etc.

if an original church register is in bad nick, the alternatives are -- the bishop's transcripts, which were copies of the registers written out yearly and sent to the bishop's registrar -- an antiquarian or genealogist might have transcribed the register decades ago when it was in better condition. Some of these copies are published, a lot more exist as typewritten or handwritten documents. The National Index of Parish Registers is the best listing of what exists The LDS films and uses all types of sources. Sometimes if they used the original register for IGI they may also have the BTs on film. The catalogue tells you what they've got (use the Place Search)

Thanks everyone for those pointers. Just had a quick look at the LDS site. I obviously haven't used a fraction of it!