Print our Brochure

Research Planning
FAQs about the I.G.I. - The Answers

Hopefully, I can demystify this one for you.  The anomaly you describe is due to a compound problem:  first, having regard to estimated information and, second, having regard to the type of search facility available on FamilySearch.

The < > - commonly called "angle brackets" - are used by transcriptionists and data encoders to indicate estimated information.  Estimated information can be surnames, Christian names, dates and/or places.  Consequently, any search of a surname without the angle brackets enclosing it will return all of the entries for the surname including those that have the angle brackets.

Using the angle brackets around a surname with the 'exact spelling' box checked will return only those entries that have been encoded with the angle brackets.  This is why it does not work if you do not check the 'exact spelling' box.  When you check that box you are literally asking the site to return to you only those entries that are spelled exactly as "<surname>", including all non-alphabetic characters.

Lastly, as with all transcription and indexing projects there are some volunteers that will take their instructions a little too literally or, conversely, not literally enough.  As we all know, parish registers very seldom include the surname of the child with the child's Christian name(s).  Same goes for birth registrations.    Estimated information may have been required as there may have been damage to a page or pages of certain records.  Consequently, in absolute literal terms, we are always only assuming that a child bears the same surname as his or her parents.  This is what has happened during the indexing process and some of the transcriptionists have extracted every child's surname as being estimated information.  Hence the proliferation of angle brackets on the IGI index in relation to entries from some parishes.  Furthermore, FamilySearch is not designed to accept or understand Boolean logic search terms - it is simply a very literal search facility.

I hope this sheds a little more light on the mysterious IGI and Family Search web site.