Familysearch is much more than the IGI
I was surprised to see numerous references to the International Genealogical Index (IGI) in the Masterclass feature in August’s issue of your magazine. The IGI is described as a ‘Legacy’ collection on the Familysearch website. It
hasha almost 893 million entries, but they have not been added to since 2008. Nevertheless, the wealth of data sets, many with images attached, has continued to grow massively on Familysearch and I strongly recommend researchers do not rely solely on the historic IGI but use the excellent search function on the main Familysearch record search page, which offers powerful functionality and many more record sets that have been indexed by an army of volunteers.
Incidentally, an early gap in the availability of English parish registers was during the English Civil War and the Cromwellian period when registers were not kept, hidden or lost. Earlier, between 1553-1558, when Catholic Mary Tudor was on the throne, Church of England records may also be absent. Steve Archer’s website FamilySearch: a Guide to the British batches ( archersoftware.co.uk/igi) was previously unknown to me, but has now been bookmarked for future reference. Sylvia Murphy, New South Wales, Australia Editor replies: You are right Sylvia, it is rather ‘old school’ of us to refer to the collection of parish records on Familysearch.org as the IGI which, as you point out, is a legacy database and just part of what is now available on the website.
He predeceased her, dying in February 1919, ensuring that he was a long-term subject of conversation and speculation in the family by leaving most of his substantial assets to a “wife” in the Far East! I remember it being said that the second marriage took place before it was strictly legal, but Rebecca’s feature mentions marrying your deceased wife’s sister was made legal in 1907, so they clearly waited until after that.
The third sister remained a spinster until her death in 1964 at the age of 101, and she maintained a close eye on any transgressions by subsequent generations.
James F Archibald, Sherborne, Dorset Editor replies: Sounds as if your grandfather’s sister’s husband was an interesting character!