Reference Centre, LDS Resources
FAQs about the I.G.I. - The Answers
As concerns the technical aspects of the I.G.I. Hugh Wallis must be given credit for the enormous amount of time he has spent uploading all of the original source batch numbers. However, I have to point out that even though a batch number may be assigned to a particular group of records, the number is assigned at the start of the extraction process. Consequently, a batch number will only become functional on the I.G.I. portion of the familysearch.org website at such time as the information is uploaded to it. Therefore, of course, not all registers and resources have a batch number even though Salt Lake may have a copy of the resource you wish to examine.
The second thing to realize is that even though a batch number has/had been assigned to a resource and that resource was/is being extracted it doesn't necessarily follow that the batch number will yet be active on the IGI. The numbers only activate at such time as the resource's computer index has been processed and entered in the IGI database and this, of course, doesn't occur until all temple ordinances have been performed. Therein lies the real answer to your question - how to locate a batch number if it cannot be found on Hugh Wallis', or some similar, web site.
Many years ago I devised a Research Planning Aid for Kent. This planning aid sets out all of the functional batch numbers for each parish throughout Kent and includes the time periods covered. Those batch numbers were last updated during August 2002. So, there well may be more original source batch numbers now functional on the I.G.I. search. The planning aid also includes the time periods covered on Boyd's marriage index as well as the B.V.R.I. 2nd edition (with comparison to the 1st edition) and, lastly, the parishes covered on the National Burial Index 1st edition.
Do a "place" search of the Family History Library Catalogue on the familysearch.org web site for the place in which you are interested. Amongst the returned list of resources for that place will appear the selection "........... Church Records - Indexes". Click on that link and you will be taken to the catalogue resource page which will provides a brief description of the resource. In the"notes" section, the batch number as well as the film numbers from which the information was extracted for those batch numbers will appear.
For your two parishes of interest the following information was displayed: St. Botolph Aldgate: christenings under batch numbers C006331, C006332, C006333, C006334,C006335, C006336, C006337, C006338, C006339 and C025551, C025552, C025553,C025554, C025555, C025556, C025557, C025558, C025559 drawn from LDS film numbers 0370924-0370925, 0370928-0370933, 0380133-0380135. Marriages not yet extracted for the IGI. I have only performed a batch number search on the I.G.I. for the first few christening batch numbers and they appear to be active. You will have to search the remaining batch numbers.
St. Stephens Walbrook includes St. Benet Sherehog: christenings under batch numbers C001381 (a perfect example of no active events being entered on the IGI as yet) and C001382 (1861-1863 only). Marriages under batch number M001381 both events were extracted from LDS film numbers 0375019, and 0845244 items 1-2(V. 49-50) (1557-1880). Have fun with your searches and I hope this information helps.
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