Saturday, January 25, 2025

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- What Is the Most Unusual Cause of Death You Have Discovered?

  Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!


Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. 

1)  What is the most unusual cause of death you have discovered for your ancestors?

2) Tell us about the most unusual cause of death you found in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status  post.  Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.

[Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting this topic!]

Here's mine:

 My 2nd great-grandfather Henry White (1824-1885) died of locomotor ataxia in Killingly, Connecticut.  

What is locomotor ataxia?  I asked Google (which used AI to provide information):

Locomotor ataxia is a neurological disorder characterized by impaired coordination and balance, leading to difficulties with walking and other movements. 

Causes: 
  • Tertiary syphilis: A late stage of the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. 
  • Multiple sclerosis: An autoimmune disease that damages the myelin sheath covering nerves in the brain and spinal cord. 
  • Friedreich's ataxia: A hereditary disorder caused by a mutation in the FXN gene. 
  • Other causes: Stroke, brain tumors, intoxication with certain substances (e.g., lead, mercury), vitamin deficiencies. 
Symptoms: 
  • Unsteady gait with swaying or staggering
  • Difficulty with balance and coordination
  • Slurred speech
  • Weakness in the legs
  • Loss of proprioception (sense of body position)
  • Tremors or jerking movements 
Diagnosis: 
  • Physical examination, 
  • Neurological tests, 
  • Blood tests (to rule out syphilis and other infections), 
  • MRI or CT scan of the brain or spinal cord. 
Treatment:

Treatment depends on the underlying cause. Options may include: 
  • Antibiotics for syphilis
  • Medications to modify the immune system (e.g., disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for multiple sclerosis)
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation to improve coordination and balance
  • Assistive devices (e.g., canes, walkers) 
Prognosis: 

The prognosis varies depending on the cause and severity of the condition. Some individuals may experience a gradual decline in symptoms, while others may have a more severe and progressive course. 

How Common Is It?  
  • very uncommon in modern times due to effective syphilis treatments
Note: It is important to consult a healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment if you experience symptoms of locomotor ataxia.

That sounds like really scary problem.  I don't know what Henry White had.  He was married at the time he died in 1885, so I hope it wasn't syphilis.  It was perhaps something noticeable to the doctor - perhaps gait, balance, slurred speech, tremors and weakness, or a stroke.


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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.comNote that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Provide a Summary and a Source Citation For An 1851 English Census Record For John Richman Household"

The Artificial Intelligence tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, Gemini, Grok, Meta, Grok, GenSpark and Perplexity) can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects.

1)  I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with a summary and a source citation (in EE format) for an 1851 England census record image for the John Richman household in Hilperton, Wiltshire, found on Ancestry.com.  Here is the attached record image:

I intentionally used a screen capture of the Ancestry page because it provides information that can be used for the source citation.  

2)  The first prompt was:  "Please create a summary of information and a source citation (in Evidence Explained format) for the attached record for the John Richman family found on Ancestry.com. Do not hallucinate."

The free ChatGPT4 provided this response:

Based on the image, here's the requested summary and citation:

Summary of Information

The 1851 England Census for the parish of Hilperton in Wiltshire lists the John Richman family residing in the village of Hilperton. The household members include:

  1. John Richman (Head): Male, age 40, occupation – Farmer of 35 acres, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  2. Ann Richman (Wife): Female, age 39, born in Seend, Wiltshire.
  3. George Richman (Son): Male, age 12, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  4. Elizabeth Richman (Daughter): Female, age 10, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  5. Mary Richman (Daughter): Female, age 8, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  6. Jane Richman (Daughter): Female, age 5, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  7. Emma Richman (Daughter): Female, age 2, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.

Citation (Evidence Explained Style)

"1851 England Census," Wiltshire, parish of Hilperton, village of Hilperton, John Richman household, HO 107/1840, folio 267, The National Archives, Kew; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [date you accessed]): original data from The National Archives, London, England.

Let me know if you'd like to refine or expand this!

Well, there are many errors in the summary.  The handwriting is somewhat hard to read.  But ChatGPT4 invented three names and missed two names.  It got ages wrong, two occupations wrong, a birthplace wrong, and missed that two children are listed as grandchildren.  It completely missed the Residence column, and the Condition column.

3)  My second prompt was trying to be helpful:  Please try again. The ages of John, Ann and Elizabeth were wrong. The occupation of John is wrong. Ann's birthplace is wrong. Elizabeth has an occupation. there are no George, Jane or Emma persons in this family. There are two young children - Mary and Rosa, who are grandchildren of John and Ann.

The ChatGPT4 response was:

Thank you for catching those errors! Let me carefully reanalyze the record and provide an accurate summary and citation:


Summary of Information

The 1851 England Census for the parish of Hilperton, Wiltshire, lists the household of John Richman. The details are as follows:

  1. John Richman (Head): Male, age 68, occupation – Pauper, formerly a Mason, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  2. Ann Richman (Wife): Female, age 70, born in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.
  3. Elizabeth Richman (Daughter): Female, age 33, occupation – Glover, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  4. Mary Richman (Granddaughter): Female, age 5, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.
  5. Rosa Richman (Granddaughter): Female, age 2, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire.

Citation (Evidence Explained Style)

"1851 England Census," Wiltshire, parish of Hilperton, village of Hilperton, John Richman household, HO 107/1840, folio 267, The National Archives, Kew; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [date you accessed]): original data from The National Archives, London, England.

Well, it did somewhat better - it got the names right, but the ages of John, Ann, Elizabeth, Mary and Rosa are wrong, John's occupation is pretty clear on the record - a Butcher.  Ann's birthplace is hard to read - it should be Devizes.  Elizabewth's occupation is wrong - it should be Weaver,  Mary's occupation was missing - Errand girl, and Rosa's occupation was missing - Scholar.  Rosa's birthplace was wrong - it is listed as Somerset Bath.  

The citation in both tries was very good - almost perfect.  

4)  My hope was that the free ChatGPT4 was mature enough to read the handwriting and get the summary and citation correct.  If it was just one or two minor errors in the handwriting, I would feel a lot more confident in this type of Summarization request.

Unfortunately, it didn't provide enough correct information, especially on the second try, to use it to accurately capture information about a family in a census record.  

An alternative would be to provide the record without the Ancestry information for summarization - hoping it will do better.  I tried with the same first prompt, and it gave me essentially the same response, but with additional children listed.  

This census record had clear headings for each column, but it also had slash and cross-out marks on some entries, perhaps for counting purposes.  I chose it because it was relatively simple.  A U.S. 1940 census record might have to be a fairly large image so the AI tool can decipher the headings.

This exercise can be used as a benchmark.  If the summarization improves over time, this could be a real time-saver for researchers.  However, we will still have to review and correct any errors that are made by the AI tools.  

5)  What about other free AI tools?

I tried Google Gemini (it would not try); Claude (gave a poor summary with only 2 people with wrong information); CoPilot (it hallucinated like ChatGPT4 did, with more children); Grok 2 (it hallucinated like ChatGPT4 did, with more children); and Perplexity (it required a PDF, so I made one of the image, and it would not try).  

I also tried Steve Little's Fact Extractor custom prompt for ChatGPT4 and it worked better than the others, but was still not adequate.

Can the subscription Chatbots do a better job?  If so, which ones?

6)  Passenger lists, vital record certificates, military records, and other record types with handwriting on forms come to mind for further investigation.  

==============================================

My blog posts, and those of other genealogists, using Artificial Intelligence tools are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver


Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.

Added and Updated FamilySearch Historical Record Collections - Week of 18 to 24 January 2025

  Each week, genealogy record collections are added and updated to FamilySearch and listed on the Historical Record Collection list at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list.

As of 24 January 2025, there are 3,417 historical record collections on FamilySearch (an increase  of 0 from last week):

The added, deleted, new and updated collections this week from FamilySearch are:

--- Collections Updated ---

Argentina, Santiago del Estero, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1961      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974197); 159,079 indexed records with 102,368 record images (was 155,153 records with 102,368 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Arkansas, Military Discharge Records, ca.1860-1970      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4114266); 43,768 indexed records with 12,708 record images (was 43,768 records with 11,036 images), UPDATED 20-Jan-2025
Australia, Victoria, Wills, Probate and Administration Files, 1841-1926 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2207846); 317,503 indexed records with 3,998,555 record images (was 309,138 records with 3,998,555 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration, 1800-1912   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2138511); 930,616 indexed records with 372,768 record images (was 921,144 records with 372,768 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Bolivia, Catholic Church Records, 1566-2020     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1922463); 9,621,369 indexed records with 1,649,601 record images (was 9,605,352 records with 1,649,601 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025

Brazil, Cemetery Records, 1799-2024     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2137269); 1,316,144 indexed records with 150,972 record images (was 1,282,311 records with 150,972 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Brazil, Minas Gerais, Civil Registration, 1820-2021     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3479702); 968,714 indexed records with 402,855 record images (was 968,003 records with 402,566 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Brazil, Pará, Civil Registration, 1815-2013     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4473609); 632,353 indexed records with 182,826 record images (was 631,827 records with 182,672 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Civil Registration, 1810-2022        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3741255); 1,845,132 indexed records with 933,357 record images (was 1,840,553 records with 931,500 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
California, San Francisco, Area Funeral Home Records, 1835-1981 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1385518); 162,362 indexed records with 193,721 record images (was 162,269 records with 193,721 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025

Democratic Republic of the Congo, National Identity Cards, 1884-2019    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000100); 6,524,944 indexed records with 9,984,982 record images (was 6,422,929 records with 9,883,301 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Denmark, Census, 1921   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2721601); 3,356,935 indexed records with 435,487 record images (was 3,356,935 records with 435,487 images), UPDATED 21-Jan-2025
El Salvador, Catholic Church Records, 1655-1977 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1919582); 2,832,174 indexed records with 592,191 record images (was 2,794,725 records with 592,191 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
France, Guadeloupe, Church Records, 1639-1830   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316498); 16,157 indexed records with 2,724 record images (was 16,068 records with 2,684 images), UPDATED 21-Jan-2025
Georgia, Houston County, Marriage Records, 1832-2015    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2748952); 119,760 indexed records with 88,960 record images (was 119,746 records with 88,960 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025

Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal, Civil Registration, 1810-1930       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000010); 257,573 indexed records with 240,057 record images (was 254,649 records with 237,397 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Guadeloupe, Civil Registration Records, 1792-1872       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4293709); 5,895 indexed records with 1,760 record images (was 4,944 records with 1,463 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Guatemala, Guatemala, Civil Registration, 1874-2008     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2075150); 4,632,074 indexed records with 1,486 record images (was 4,629,620 records with 1,486 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Haiti, Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Catholic Church Records, 1866-2017        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4279947); 154,405 indexed records with 29,271 record images (was 151,518 records with 26,807 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Honduras, Catholic Church Records, 1633-1978    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823595); 1,861,556 indexed records with 425,330 record images (was 1,854,498 records with 425,330 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025

Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1452460); 13,331,492 indexed records with 5,864,285 record images (was 13,306,462 records with 5,864,285 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1740-1900   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2820100); 8,290,964 indexed records with 293,101 record images (was 8,240,457 records with 291,098 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Italy, Avellino, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1809-1947  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2484771); 144,578 indexed records with 3,099,458 record images (was 144,578 records with 3,099,458 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Italy, Cagliari, Cagliari, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1934    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2043426); 64,332 indexed records with 1,791,108 record images (was 63,773 records with 1,791,108 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025
Italy, Genova, Chiavari, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1941      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1482818); 49,496 indexed records with 650,745 record images (was 48,988 records with 650,745 images), UPDATED 19-Jan-2025

Italy, Latina, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1867-1946    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2684446); Browse 144,647 Images only, no index (was 0 records with 144,647 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Italy, Oristano, Oristano, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1941    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1947719); 132,305 indexed records with 342,194 record images (was 127,764 records with 342,194 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Italy, Padova, Padova, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1929        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1946877); 46,331 indexed records with 1,745,536 record images (was 44,376 records with 1,745,536 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Italy, Rovigo, Rovigo, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1937        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1482864); 678,828 indexed records with 1,082,856 record images (was 678,669 records with 1,082,856 images), UPDATED 19-Jan-2025
Italy, Trapani, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1906-1928   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2052404); 240,566 indexed records with 1,371,292 record images (was 232,922 records with 1,371,292 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025

Italy, Treviso, Treviso, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1941      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1947831); 57,979 indexed records with 427,232 record images (was 57,264 records with 427,232 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025
Italy, Vicenza, Bassano del Grappa, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1871-1942       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2141952); 186,697 indexed records with 1,637,660 record images (was 186,697 records with 1,637,660 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Italy, Viterbo, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1870-1943   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2016212); 90,219 indexed records with 936,472 record images (was 90,219 records with 936,472 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Martinique, Church Records, 1662-1847   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316497); 17,152 indexed records with 2,339 record images (was 16,693 records with 2,893 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Martinique, Civil Registration Records, 1766-1874       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316501); 10,268 indexed records with 3,033 record images (was 10,033 records with 3,015 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025

Mexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records, 1555-1996   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1883388); 6,220,722 indexed records with 5,283,986 record images (was 6,215,473 records with 5,283,986 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Norway, Probate Index Cards, 1640-1903  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1661306); Index only (770,718 records), no images (was 735,602 records with 0 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Peru, Catholic Church Records, 1556-2023        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1877097); 22,419,781 indexed records with 4,192,353 record images (was 22,419,768 records with 4,192,353 images), UPDATED 19-Jan-2025
Philippines Civil Registration (National), 1945-1996    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1852584); 3,650,653 indexed records with 20,274,621 record images (was 2,771,036 records with 20,274,621 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025
Portugal, Aveiro, Catholic Church Records, 1550-1957    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1928590); 1,048,310 indexed records with 571,698 record images (was 1,054,375 records with 571,698 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025

Portugal, Faro, Catholic Church Records, 1544-1911      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1511408); 884,539 indexed records with 138,057 record images (was 884,549 records with 138,057 images), UPDATED 19-Jan-2025
Portugal, Guarda, Catholic Church Records, 1459-1982    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1928588); 422,749 indexed records with 815,966 record images (was 427,832 records with 815,966 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025
Portugal, Viseu, Catholic Church Records, 1523-1989     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1928589); 2,163,002 indexed records with 1,034,661 record images (was 2,298,989 records with 1,034,661 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025
Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645-2021 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1807092); 3,339,601 indexed records with 191,547 record images (was 3,339,579 records with 191,547 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Russia, Samara, Church Books 1748-1934  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1807365); 11,326,369 indexed records with 1,909,956 record images (was 11,198,102 records with 1,909,956 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025

Russia, Tula, Church Books, 1722-1936   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000050); 4,112,336 indexed records with 1,050,549 record images (was 3,605,210 records with 950,613 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
Scotland, Civil Registration, 1855-1875, 1881, 1891     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000163); 4,543,367 indexed records with 1,336,009 record images (was 4,463,287 records with 1,270,005 images), UPDATED 19-Jan-2025
St. Lucia, Church Records, 1751-1793    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4449051); 3,044 indexed records with 639 record images (was 3,000 records with 629 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Record of Members (Worldwide), 1836-1970       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3714676); 1,287,067 indexed records with 88,066 record images (was 1,248,601 records with 86,120 images), UPDATED 22-Jan-2025
Ukraine, Mykolaiv, Metrical Books, 1790-1917    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4447266); 176,610 indexed records with 69,255 record images (was 159,374 records with 63,562 images), UPDATED 18-Jan-2025

Ukraine, Poltava, Metrical Books, 1741-1937     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4440335); 1,454,930 indexed records with 407,121 record images (was 1,451,635 records with 406,225 images), UPDATED 23-Jan-2025
United States, Census, 1930     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1810731); 125,180,196 indexed records with 2,957,015 record images (was 125,180,290 records with 2,957,015 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
United States, Census, 1940     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2000219); 134,826,898 indexed records with 3,841,151 record images (was 134,827,284 records with 3,841,151 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
United States, Public Records, 1970-2009        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2199956); Index only (875,609,755 records), no images (was 875,609,756 records with 0 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Uruguay, Civil Registration, 1879-2020  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1837849); Index only (1,649,953 records), no images (was 1,637,291 records with 0 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025

Venezuela, Civil Registration, 1843-2021        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823609); 1,280,109 indexed records with 586,312 record images (was 1,269,883 records with 586,312 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1912      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4149585); 1,827,878 indexed records with 95,452 record images (was 1,812,578 records with 95,186 images), UPDATED 24-Jan-2025
Zambia, Archdiocese of Lusaka, Church Records, 1908-2019        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3736255); 993,036 indexed records with 181,893 record images (was 993,017 records with 181,888 images), UPDATED 21-Jan-2025

--- Collections with new images ---

Alabama, Voter Registration and Poll Tax Cards, 1834-1981       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4016429); 701,385 indexed records with 150,098 record images (was 701,385 records with 143,369 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Alaska, WWII Statement of Service Records, 1948-1949    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4138678); 8,638 indexed records with 8,621 record images (was 8,638 records with 8,507 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Argentina, Buenos Aires, Civil Registration, 1861-2018  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000041); 1 indexed records with 14,565 record images (was 1 records with 14,564 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024
Argentina, Military Records, 1911-1936  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000280); 1 indexed records with 1,042,445 record images (was 1 records with 1,040,524 images), last updated 31-Oct-2024
Arizona, Wills and Deeds, ca. 1700s-2017        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3158817); 1 indexed records with 812 record images (was 1 records with 182 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024

Brazil, Alagoas, Civil Registration, 1876-2023  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469403); 1 indexed 
records with 202,914 record images (was 1 records with 202,393 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024
Brazil, Maranhão, Civil Registration, 1827-2022 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469402); 1 indexed records with 134,138 record images (was 1 records with 133,826 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024
Canada, Census, 1931    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000196); 2,466,494 indexed records with 2,462,489 record images (was 2,466,494 records with 2,462,440 images), last updated 16-Jun-2024
Colombia, Bogotá, Burial Permits, 1938-1995     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3212241); 231,067 indexed records with 212,782 record images (was 231,067 records with 212,731 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024
Colombia, Censuses, 1777-1967   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000123); 257,442 indexed records with 26,527 record images (was 257,442 records with 23,634 images), last updated 07-Nov-2024

Colombia, Diocese of Barranquilla, Catholic Church Records, 1808-2007   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2241457); 220,514 indexed records with 67,494 record images (was 220,514 records with 65,139 images), last updated 06-Nov-2024
Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2843390); 437,710 indexed records with 413,517 record images (was 437,710 records with 413,510 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
Ecuador, Cemetery Records, 1862-2020    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3755446); 992,024 indexed records with 367,625 record images (was 992,024 records with 360,567 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024
England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1538-1983 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1465708); 1,108,130 indexed records with 113,963 record images (was 1,108,130 records with 113,618 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
England, Hampshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1980 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2556014); 1,853,815 indexed records with 140,183 record images (was 1,853,815 records with 140,156 images), last updated 24-Oct-2024

Finland, Passport Registers, 1900-1920  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4139415); 111,359 indexed records with 3,007 record images (was 111,359 records with 2,075 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
France, Calvados, Census, 1836  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4279958); 1,501 indexed records with 52 record images (was 1,501 records with 31 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
France, Marne, Census, 1876     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316511); 144,863 indexed records with 2,756 record images (was 144,863 records with 2,612 images), last updated 28-Oct-2024
France, Saône-et-Loire, Parish and Civil Registration, 1530-1892        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2840171); 7,237,342 indexed records with 1,973,984 record images (was 7,237,342 records with 1,971,400 images), last updated 21-Oct-2024
Hawaii, Probate Packet Records, 1814-1917       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3463463); 72,896 indexed records with 70,627 record images (was 72,896 records with 67,816 images), last updated 10-Jan-2025

Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1743180); 18,304,230 indexed records with 1,114,952 record images (was 18,304,230 records with 1,113,918 images), last updated 13-Jun-2024
Idaho, Naturalization Records,  1892-1990       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3241358); 15,873 indexed records with 15,311 record images (was 15,873 records with 15,262 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
Italy, Diocesi di Caltanissetta, Catholic Church Records, 1539-1929     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000377); 1 indexed records with 23,984 record images (was 1 records with 23,983 images), last updated 05-Dec-2024
Italy, Ivrea Diocesi di Ivrea, Catholic Church Records, 1474-1950       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000373); 1 indexed records with 99,996 record images (was 1 records with 99,994 images), last updated 05-Dec-2024
Italy, Potenza, Archdiocese of Potenza, Catholic Church Records, 1572-1900      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000374); 1 indexed records with 33,017 record images (was 1 records with 33,016 images), last updated 05-Dec-2024

Italy, Torino, Diocese of Torino, Catholic Church Records, 1801-1899    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000113); 1 indexed records with 271,052 record images (was 1 records with 270,944 images), last updated 05-Dec-2024
Missouri, Church Records, 1827-2004     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2790252); 31,571 indexed records with 1,595 record images (was 31,571 records with 1,586 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2803479); 4,749,222 indexed records with 84,733 record images (was 4,749,222 records with 84,724 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
Puerto Rico, San Juan, Cemetery Records, 1888-1988      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4376727); 182,749 indexed records with 85,119 record images (was 182,749 records with 82,034 images), last updated 13-Jun-2024
Scandinavia, Mission Emigration Records, 1852-1920      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3288472); 27,406 indexed records with 893 record images (was 27,406 records with 510 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Sierra Leone, Civil Births and Deaths, 1802-2017        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3245338); 1,099,372 indexed records with 840,515 record images (was 1,099,372 records with 840,484 images), last updated 09-Oct-2024
South Carolina, Naturalization Records, 1885-1955       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000228); 8,034 indexed records with 5,642 record images (was 8,034 records with 5,640 images), last updated 28-Dec-2024
United States City and Business Directories, ca. 1749 - ca. 1990        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3754697); 64,961,936 indexed records with 928,756 record images (was 64,961,936 records with 911,302 images), last updated 20-Dec-2024
United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3346936); 99,204,702 indexed records with 3,413,169 record images (was 99,204,702 records with 3,408,643 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2761958); 7,193,829 indexed records with 387,398 record images (was 7,193,829 records with 368,773 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Virginia, Vital Records, 1853-1934      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4231103); 2,064,673 indexed records with 108,053 record images (was 2,064,673 records with 107,149 images), last updated 30-Jul-2024

--- Collections with images removed ---

Aruba, Civil Registration, 1823-2004    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4285043); 27,524 indexed records with 12,562 record images (was 27,524 records with 13,025 images), last updated 10-Jan-2025
California, Passenger and Crew Lists at Various Ports, 1907-1957        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3477653); 382,893 indexed records with 291,362 record images (was 382,893 records with 292,268 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Canada, Border Entry Lists, 1908-1918   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4123954); 939,553 indexed records with 76,463 record images (was 939,553 records with 76,737 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Connecticut, Naturalization Records, 1795-1945  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3238391); 305,750 indexed records with 676,523 record images (was 305,750 records with 679,311 images), last updated 07-Nov-2024
England, Cambridge, Parish Registers, 1538-1983         (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3299384); 473,470 indexed records with 31,579 record images (was 473,470 records with 33,092 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

England, Huntingdonshire, Parish Registers      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2340291); 308,855 indexed records with 13,044 record images (was 308,855 records with 14,279 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
France, Mayenne, Parish and Civil Registration, 1427-1897       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3657627); 5,403,554 indexed records with 1,388,461 record images (was 5,403,554 records with 1,388,836 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
France, Vienne, Military Draft Cards, 1867-1921 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2807503); 147,160 indexed records with 121,134 record images (was 147,160 records with 121,255 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
Georgia, Military Discharge Records, ca.1864 - ca.1967  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4113736); 172,667 indexed records with 102,101 record images (was 172,667 records with 107,958 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Germany, Prussia, Saxony, Census Lists, 1585-1935       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2780641); 1,028,323 indexed records with 52,622 record images (was 1,028,323 records with 52,875 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Hawaii, Collector of Customs, Ships' Passenger Manifests, 1843-1900     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3463100); 527,525 indexed records with 225,299 record images (was 527,525 records with 226,446 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Hungary, Church Books, 1624-1950        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4133831); 7,603,730 indexed records with 867,068 record images (was 7,603,730 records with 867,097 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Iceland, Church Census, 1744-1965       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2697871); 1,875,482 indexed records with 49,301 record images (was 1,875,482 records with 49,309 images), last updated 19-Nov-2024
Iowa, Johnson, Iowa City, Voter Registers, 1897-1904    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4132312); 63,334 indexed records with 1,874 record images (was 63,334 records with 2,686 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Minnesota, Waseca County Historical Society, Burial Cards, ca.1860-1992 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3744865); 10,352 indexed records with 10,267 record images (was 10,352 records with 10,280 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

Norway, Oslo, Census, 1912      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4445453); 41,218 indexed records with 7,409 record images (was 41,218 records with 8,996 images), last updated 15-Jan-2025
Pennsylvania, Middle District Court, Naturalization Records, 1901-1992  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000058); 252,555 indexed records with 215,908 record images (was 252,555 records with 218,278 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
Philippines, Church Census, 1542-1980   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000216); 3,301,396 indexed records with 65,316 record images (was 3,301,396 records with 74,044 images), last updated 13-Nov-2024
South Africa, Civil Death Registration, 1953-1967       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3732506); 1,221,606 indexed records with 1,226,717 record images (was 1,221,606 records with 1,226,745 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024
South Africa, Civil Marriage Records, 1801-1974 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2821281); 2,699,587 indexed records with 2,692,226 record images (was 2,699,587 records with 2,692,993 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024

South Africa, Orange Free State, Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court, 1832-1990        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3040532); 639,973 indexed records with 82,276 record images (was 639,973 records with 82,306 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
South Carolina, County Marriage Licenses, 1911-1953     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3161369); 737,889 indexed records with 660,820 record images (was 737,889 records with 662,984 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
Spain, Madrid, Municipal Census Records, 1910-1945      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000004); 1,777,197 indexed records with 682,209 record images (was 1,777,197 records with 687,234 images), last updated 15-Jan-2025
United States, Census, 1950     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4464515); 52,785,233 indexed records with 52,639,029 record images (was 52,785,233 records with 52,640,949 images), last updated 16-Jun-2024
United States, Recruits for the Polish Army in France, 1917-1919        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3023813); 11,885 indexed records with 7,551 record images (was 11,885 records with 11,860 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Uruguay, Civil Registration Index Card, 1900-1937       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1976089); 2,592,800 indexed records with 651,874 record images (was 2,592,800 records with 661,555 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
Uruguay, Passenger Lists, 1888-1980     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2691993); 3,641,119 indexed records with 154,808 record images (was 3,641,119 records with 155,873 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
West Virginia, Deaths, 1804-1999        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1417434); 2,220,736 indexed records with 19 record images (was 2,220,736 records with 2,407,839 images), last updated 16-Nov-2023

--- Collections with records removed ---

California, Birth Index, 1905-1995      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2001879); Index only (24,589,425 records), no images (was 24,589,426 records with 0 images), last updated 01-Mar-2012
Kentucky, Livingston County, School Census Enumeration (Colored and White), 1898-1913   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3491880); 56,918 indexed records with 1,690 record images (was 115,029 records with 1,690 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
New Jersey, Naturalization Records, 1796-1991   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2649169); 812,675 indexed records with 797,588 record images (was 812,685 records with 797,588 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024
New Jersey, Reclaim the Records, Geographic Birth Index, 1901-1929      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4461588); 1,903,316 indexed records with 30,988 record images (was 1,903,475 records with 30,988 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024
United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000290); Index only (413,872,645 records), no images (was 413,877,595 records with 0 images), last updated 22-Jun-2024

=======================================================

My friend and SDGS colleague, Marshall, has come up with a way to determine which collections are ADDED, DELETED or UPDATED, and to alphabetize the entries in each category. Thanks to Marshall for helping me out here!

Marshall notes that there are:

*  0 removed entries
*  0 added entries 
*  58 updated entries
*  69 entries with more or fewer images or records

The FamilySearch website says 3417 total entries on the list. Marshall's list says 3417.  In sync!

In order to select a specific record collection on FamilySearch, go to   https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list and use the "Filter by collection name" feature in the upper left-hand corner and use keywords (e.g. "church england") to find collections with those keywords.

Each of the collections listed above has a Research Wiki page (use the "Learn more" link). It would be very useful if the Wiki page for each collection listed the dates for when the collection was added as a new collection and the dates for major updates also.

=============================================


Copyright (c) 2025 Randall J. Seaver

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