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A large number of British Library India Office records are now available online on the LDS website. Refer [[IGI]] for details. However, it appears not all the British Library India Office records are listed on the LDS website in which case you may wish to search the British Library India Office records.
Alternatively, you can look up the microfilm number on this website, [[LDS Microfilms for Bengal Presidency Church Records]], [[LDS Microfilms for Bombay Presidency Church Records]] or [[LDS Microfilms for Madras Presidency Church Records]]. If you live in the [[Family History Centres| United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand]] (and perhaps other countries) the films must be ordered on lineonline. Otherwise, you will still need to go to one of the [[Family History Centres]] to order the microfilm of the actual index.
When (Alternatively, you will now need to go to back to the FHC informs your that your microfilm is availableLocality Guide, described above, make a booking for a film reader and view to find the number of the microfilmfor that volume. Simply look Look up INDIA, then the volume Presidency (there are usually only one BOMBAY, BENGAL or two volumes on a microfilmMADRAS), then look up CHURCH RECORDS. Go past the page number of index listing to the volume you requirelisting. There will be your ancestor's records of baptism, marriage or burial! )
If Look up the volume in which you only have one or two records that are interested (it should match the year in which you wish to extract from the actual recordsare interested, then another method of obtaining but there are exceptions - always go for the same information is to ask the LDS to make a photocopy of the record for youvolume number). You must give the FHC librarian the equivalent of $US2, and supply them with Then write down the microfilm number and page opposite the volume number, obtained from the index. Fill out a Request for Photocopies form, and the photocopies will be sent to you in due course. You may have up to 8 photocopies for the same $US2 fee Most countries now require [[Family History Centres#Ordering microfilms|online ordering]], so this can work out to be significantly cheaper.
Please be aware When the [[Family History Centres|FHC]] informs your that your microfilm is available, make a booking for a film reader and view the microfilm. Simply look up the volume (there are usually only one or two volumes on a microfilm), then look up the page number of the FIBIS searchable database has indexes to volume you require. There will be your ancestor'''all''' Bengal Marriages 1709-1893s records of baptism, searchable for free.marriage or burial!
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'''Note: Microfilm ordering services ceases 31 August 2017. Some microfilms have already been digitised, and are available through the Catalogue Search on FamilySearch, not in the Records section. Records which originate from the British Library in the records series below are only available to be viewed on a FamilySearch computer at a [[FamilySearch Centres|FamilySearch Centre]]. (Some other record series from the British Library are additionally viewable at a FamilySearch Affiliate Library). All microfilms are expected to be digitized and available by 2020. Please take this into account when reading the information below.''' Read these instructions if you are searching for records of '''births after 1910, or marriages after 1935''' which are not shown online on [[Category:Research methodsIGI#india records|FamilySearch]] because of privacy reasons. [[Findmypast]]has minimal records, for privacy reasons, for a slightly different range of dates. Note however the records sent to England declined in number from the early 1930s with minimal numbers in the 1940s.
==Summary==
This page contains instructions on how to use the [[LDS]] (Mormon) records to resaerch research family history in India. It is '''not''' an official page of the [[LDS]] church. To find your nearest LDS [[Family History Centres]] (FHC), look up your telephone directory under ''Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints''. Or ask a fellow genealogist - they'll know! To find your nearest FHC at the official [[LDS]] website go to [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp FHC Locator].
==Background==
British India was divided into three Presidencies :
*[[Madras]], which covered the southern portion of India. The main cities of the Presidencies were [[Bombay]], [[Calcutta]] and [[Madras]], respectively.
The first British church in India was St Mary's in [[Fort St George]], [[Madras]], which was consecrated in 1680. Many other churches were established after that date and records exist for most of them from the time of their consecration. Every year on Lady Day (25th March), British churches were required to send copies of their ecclesiastical records to the capital city of each Presidency. The Presidencies then indexed the records and sent them to the India Office in London (now [[APAC]] at the [[British Library]]). The Mormons have microfilmed all the ecclesiastical records, including the indices, and made them available to Mormons and non-Mormons alike. The British Library India Office records are now digitised and available online as images on the [[findmypast]] website. A large number are also available online on the LDS website FamilySearch as index records. (See [[IGI]] for details). However, not all the British Library India Office records are listed on the LDS website. Note however the records sent to England declined in number from the early 1930s with minimal numbers sent to England in the 1940s.
==Index==
The first step is to determine which Presidency your ancestor lived in, as each one is indexed separately. If you have no idea, then start with [[Bengal]], which was the largest Presidency. If that doesn't work out, try [[Bombay]] and finally, [[Madras]]. If you have a location name and are a member of the INDIA-L Mailing List then you could ask its helpful members for advice on which Presidency to search, or try check the [[:Category:Locations|Locations ]]section of the FIBIS this website. For the following stepsNext, you may use need the microfiche or computers at your local FHCmicrofilm number.First, select You can find the Family History Catalogue Locality Guide (either a CD for the computer, or a drawer of microfiche). The Locality Guide is divided into countries, regions, cities and so film you need on, then sub-divided into subject headings. Look up '''India''', then under that country's listing, look up the following pages:*[[LDS Microfilms for Bengal Presidency ('''Church Records]]*[[LDS Microfilms for Bombay''', '''Bengal''' or '''Presidency Church Records]]*[[LDS Microfilms for Madras'''). Then look up the subject heading '''Presidency Church Records'''. ]] Alternatively, you can search online by going to the LDS [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp Locality Guide] and conducting a ''Place Search''. )
You will be presented with a very long list of microfilms. The first section is the index for that Presidency, followed by a list of microfilms of the actual church records. In the index, go to the type of record you require (BAPTISM, MARRIAGE or BURIAL). Select the period in which you are interested. Each index covers around a ten-year period, although many of the early ones cover considerably longer periods. When you find the time period (e.g., 1860-1870) write down the microfilm number that appears opposite it (e.g., 480960).
Now go to the friendly FHC librarian and tell them that you wish to order that microfilm. You will be charged a small fee (in the vicinity of $6 Australian) to cover postage. In a couple of few weeks (approximately!) your microfilm will arrive and the FHC will notify you. Make a booking to view the microfilm at the FHC and start looking for your ancestors!
View the index on your microfilm. The index is semi-alphabetical, which means that for each year, all the names beginning with a certain letter are listed in the order in which they were transcribed. You will need to look through all the names for that letter, for each year in which you think the event (baptism, etc.) may have taken place. Note that marriages were indexed by the Groom's name only until the 1890's. If you are looking for the marriage of a female ancestor, whose husband's name you don't know, you will need to look up EVERY marriage for the year(s) in question.
Once you have found your ancestor's name, write down the details :
*year<br> *volume number<br> *page number. In the records a page is called a folio. If you see a reference such as f 121 this means page 121
Don't forget the volume number - it is sometimes only written at the top of the page, so you may need to scroll up to see it.
If the volume number doesn't look like a simple number (e.g. it has a letter over a line over a number) then your ancestor's record is part of the Omissions and Corrections series. Go to the page on [[LDS Microfilms for Church Records outside of the usual Presidencies|Non Presidential Records ]] to learn what this is all about.
If you have already found a reference to a record in the British Library India Office records, or some FIBIS records eg some transcribed marriages, you do not need to look in the indexes as the information you already have as to year, volume and folio is the same as the information in the indexes.
==The Church Record==
Now that you have found your ancestor's name in the Index, you will now need to go to back to the Locality Guide, described above, to find the number of the microfilm for that volume. Look up INDIA, then the Presidency (BOMBAY, BENGAL or MADRAS) then CHURCH RECORDS. Go past the index listing to the volume listing. Look up the volume in which you are interested (it should match the year in which you are interested, but there are exceptions - always go for the volume number). Then write down the microfilm number opposite the volume number, and go to your friendly FHC librarian and order that microfilm. Alternatively, you can look up the microfilm number on this website, the following pages:*[[LDS Microfilms for Bengal Presidency Church Records]], *[[LDS Microfilms for Bombay Presidency Church Records]] or *[[LDS Microfilms for Madras Presidency Church Records]]. You will still need to go to one fo the [[Family History Centres]] to order the microfilm of the actual record, however.
==Conclusion==
I know that this sounds very complicated, but once you're familiar with the records you'll realise that it's fairly straightforward. Look up the Locality Guide and order a film, view the index, look up the Locality Guide and order a film again, then view the record.
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[[Category:Research methods]]
