Scan the Whole Thing First

This post is not about digitally scanning documents. This one is about actually using your eyeballs.

I first worked on my children’s Belgian ancestors years ago. When using the vital records from the 19th century, I used them the way I had other European records from the same time span. I looked in the “book” for and read through the entries for the years I thought included the person’s birth date. Then, if I had the correct person and had the names of the parents, I scanned the years before and after the birth to locate siblings.

Imagine my surprise when I found indexes interspersed in the records. I had never encountered those before. While indexes are not perfect, they would have saved me a great deal of time. 

The first time you use any “new” record, familiarize yourself with the whole thing first, don’t assume that it is like every other one you have ever used.