Changes

There are currently two Family A new website was introduced 28 April 2010. '''[https://www.familysearch.org/ FamilySearch]'''<br>Details:<br>First click on Search sites. To access the India and Ceylon records, which we will call "Family Search", or then click on the new website map for “Asia and Middle East” and "Previous version Family Search"select either India or Sri Lanka. However, India related baptisms, or Pv Family Searchmarriages and burials can be researched more directly at [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&region=ASIA_MIDDLE_EAST '''Asia and Middle East Records'''].

From this link '''Previous version Family SearchSri Lanka, Colombo District Dutch Reformed Church Records 1677-1990'''are also available with images online. Note, this web page takes some time to load. An India List post gives some hints for browsing these [[Ceylon]] images.<brref> You can view the Indian data India List post online using the [http://wwwarchiver.familysearchrootsweb.ancestry.orgcom/th/read/INDIA/eng2011-02/search1297851646 "LDS - Asia & Middle East - Sri Lanka/frameset_search.asp Advanced SearchColombo"] on dated 16 February 2011 </ref> Another series of images, (added March 2013), accessible from the LDS’s same link is [httphttps://www.familysearch.org/englearn/wiki/en/default.asp Previous version Family Search] website. Select country "India" ,_Gujarat_Diocese_Church_Records_(or Singapore etcFamilySearch_Historical_Records) You can also search using '''India, Gujarat Diocese Protestant Church Records, 1854-2012'''] Some of the records are in the Hindi and Gujarati languages, but there are some records in English, as evidenced by one of the [httphttps://www.familysearch.org/englearn/searchwiki/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igien/search_IGIFile:India,_Gujarat_Diocese_Church_Records_DGS_7251285_3_Baptism.asp&clear_form=true IGI Searchjpg sample records] shown. The data is almost, but not quite as extensive. Select region “Asia”. Then select country “India” or "All countries" for a wider area including countries such as Singapore, Malaysia etc. There is a facility to add batch numbers, see below.

The Pv To confuse matters, the (small) number of records for "other" areas in Asia such as [[Macao]], [[Singapore]], [[Bencoolen]] etc available on the Family Search website also includes now are not found in the Asia category, but in the “All Published Collections” category , in a group of records called "World Miscellaneous" and may be accessed through the following links: [httphttps://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearchsearch/collection/start.html#start Record Search Pilot1783956 World Miscellaneous Births and Baptisms], which is a pilot project to access online images of data[https://familysearch. Currently (June 2010) it contains the data mentioned in the following paragraphorg/search/collection/1809045 World Miscellaneous Marriages], but this may change in the future[https://familysearch. org/search/collection/1809046 World Miscellaneous Deaths and Burials]

''' Changes intoduced 28 April 2010'''<br>'''Family Search has placed new records on a new website, (which is still "under construction") [https://www.familysearch.org/ FamilySearch]'''. To access the India and Ceylon records from this site, scroll down the page to “Browse by location” and select “Asia and Middle East”. However, India related records can be researched more directly at [https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list#page=1&region=ASIA_MIDDLE_EAST '''Asia and Middle East Records''']. From this link '''Sri Lanka, Colombo District Dutch Reformed Church Records 1677-1990''' are also available with images online. Note, this web page takes some time to load. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-02/1297851646 post] gives some hints for browsing these [[Ceylon]] images. The original website [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp Previous version FamilySearch] continues and in time the two sites will be merged into the new site. The LDS website previously described description of the records is as "Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records" for births and baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. The current description is "Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City". They in fact appear to be based on the India Office [[Church records|church records]] at the British Library , including the N/5 [[Princely states|Indian States]] records.<ref>India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2010-10/1286947107 post 13 October 2010]</ref> However, it appears that the records from the [[LDS Microfilms for Church Records outside of the usual Presidencies#Madras Ecclesiastical Returns - Omissions and Corrections 1777-1884|Madras Ecclesiastical Returns - Omissions and Corrections 1777-1884]] are '''not''' included.<ref>Email to User:Maureene dated 20 July 2011 indicates two brothers, Joseph Thorpe, 18, who died 23 Dec 1853 and was buried in the "Old Cemetery" at Guntoor, Hyderabad Residency and George Benjamin Thorpe, 23, who died 29 Jun 1858 at Jaulnah , who appear in the Omissions Film for Madras Burial (“film B265”) are '''not''' included in the Family Search data.</ref> Please note that on an individual basis the LDS record does not show all the details available on the original. Also not every India Office church record is recorded in the LDS database. Some individual entries are known to have been '''omitted''', probably due to error.<ref>

In additionIf you are searching for a name which could have various spellings, you can search using a single letter replaced by a wildcard question mark '''?''', or the Previous version Family Search website contains the LDS multiple character wildcard asterisk ''' *''' <ref> [httphttps://www.familysearch.org/engblog/en/Librarysearching-wildcards-familysearch-2/FHLC Searching with Wildcards in FamilySearch] FamilySearch Blog</frameset_fhlc.asp ref> To find out details of microfilms which may be ordered from FamilySearch, use the '''[https://familysearch.org/catalog-search FamilySearch Library Cataloguecatalogue]'''] for all the LDS microfilms, as does the new site. Currently June 2010, the catalogue on the new website has some problems, and it is better to use the original website for the Library Catalogue. <br> [http://www.londonfhc.org/ London Family History Centre] has a film catalogue for the [http://www.londonfhc.org/content/catalogue?p=Indian+Subcontinent Indian Subcontinent] and for [http://www.londonfhc.org/content/catalogue?c=221&p=Indian+Subcontinent,India India] in a different format to the main catalogue, classified by geographical region.

'''If you have found a record from the India Births, Marriages or Burials on Family Search, as stated previously please be aware that this is not a full record. It is recommended that you view the original entry from the microfilm quoted.''' This will almost always contain occupational information which may provide a valuable clue for the location of further records. In addition, you can check that there have been no transcription errors. '''Information about ordering microfilms or photocopies may be found in the article [[Family History Centres]]'''. Photocopies are free in the majority of circumstances. Note also that there is an alternative way to obtain a copy of a record, as the record images are now available on the pay website Find My Past

*[[Using LDS Microfilms | How to Use Church Records on Microfilm]]:Instructions on how to use the microfilmed copies of the Ecclesiatical Returns and their indexes at an LDS [[Family History Centres| Family History Centre]]. Read these instructions if you are searching for '''records of births after 1910, or marriages after 1935''' which are not shown online on FamilySearch because of privacy reasons. Note however the records sent to England '''declined in number from the early 1930s''' with minimal numbers in the 1940s.