Microfilm and digital images of some records usually appear in sequence, front of first document, back of first document, front of second document, back of second document, and so on.
There are always exceptions. This marriage bond was split over three images on FamilySearch:
- Just the middle of the front
- The entire back
- Then the entire front
If I had assumed every piece of paper was two images, I would have missed the best part of all–the third image. I always move forwards and backwards on any set of digital images to make certain nothing is overlooked.
2 Responses
When Ancestry displays WWI & WWII draft registrations they show a front & back, side-by-side. I believe the back is of the previous or next card, and I don’t think it’s consistent, meaning it’s not always the back of the next card or the back of the previous card.
It makes sense that they would scan them that way. They couldn’t scan the front & back of a card at the same time.
The back of the card is important because it contains a physical description of the person. Not detailed, but height, heft, and hair and eye color.
I discovered this problem when the back of a card showed a different race than I knew the person to be.
Now… if I only knew for sure which way to scroll to get the proper card back… left or right.
Yikes! I didn’t know that, Clark. So far all the sets I’ve found had a blank back. Maybe I am missing some information. Guess I’ll have some rechecking to do ASAP. It’s really a duh moment. Of course at the time they scanned those back and front at the same time wasn’t possible.