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Archiver > APG > 2004-04 > 1081109239


From: "Mills" <>
Subject: RE: [APG] New York City Death Index database now available to all
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2004 15:08:07 -0500
In-Reply-To: <98.76abaee.2da0f46f@aol.com>


June, "thanks" is a totally inadequate word to express the gratitude due to
your society and these volunteers for providing this database.

At the risk of sounding ungrateful (which I'm definitely not!), I have to
ask a question or two so that I can better understand the results I've
gotten from the site.

The preface to the database states that the database "was accomplished by
scanning the original index books and required no typing." The time period
is 1891-1911, a period for which "original indexes" in most places are
handwritten rather than typed. If the project was done from a typed index,
then presumably it was a master index created at a later date by someone
interpreting the original handwriting, right? Then this index was OCR'd,
for conversion into fields in the database?

As soon as I read your message, my fingers flew to the site to search for
the various immigrant families from Palermo on which I have been
working--beginning with Sammarco (and variant spellings). Under the S's, I
found virtually zilch. Almost without exception, the immigrants and their
known offspring are under the L's.

Of course, we all know that capital S's and capital L's of the past look
very much alike to modern readers. But, as a rule, contemporary scribes and
were familiar with the subtle differences. Can you help me understand the
point in time at which NYC officials, indexers, or copyists might have begun
to "convert" all these S----- entries into L----- entries?

Elizabeth

---------
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
Author, *Isle of Canes*
Author, *Evidence! Citation & Analysis
for the Family Historian*
Editor/Lead author, *Professional Genealogy: A Manual for
Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers & Librarians*


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