View Full Version : FMP - Mother's Maiden name added to pre 1911 birth index
Has no one picked up on this?
From Friday's email
New Search Feature
We have recently added mother’s maiden names to over 12.3 million England and Wales GRO birth records between 1837 and 1910 to help you expand your family tree. This is an ongoing project and more birth records will be enhanced throughout 2018.
So much less restrictive searching on FMP than on the GRO!
maggie_4_7
30-01-18, 13:11
Ooooh thanks for letting us know.
Mary from Italy
30-01-18, 13:19
Yes, it'll certainly make searches much quicker and easier.
kiterunner
30-01-18, 13:56
How did they do that?
The tell-tale phrase is 12.3 million.
That's a lot, but nowhere near the total for the database.
How did they do that?
Presumably they are using the new GRO index to extract the MMN.
kiterunner
30-01-18, 14:32
So are they paying the GRO for it? I'm surprised we haven't seen an announcement about it before.
Four of my grandfather's siblings are there. But he, and the other four, aren't. All same reg district.
The tell-tale phrase is 12.3 million.
That's a lot, but nowhere near the total for the database.
The total birth registrations 1837-1910 is nearer 60 million.
maggie_4_7
30-01-18, 19:03
Yes I noticed that some of mine aren't done but at least first port of call with a bigger timeframe search and then perhaps GRO if in doubt.
When it's finished it will be great to easily pick up missing kids or those who were born and died between census'.
kiterunner
31-01-18, 08:20
Yes, assuming the MMN is being accurately attached to the right record. I have asked on FB how they are getting it but no official answer yet.
Is there anywhere that says what years/parts of the alphabet they have done?
kiterunner
31-01-18, 09:46
I haven't seen such a thing, Merry.
FMP have "liked" my FB post but not answered my question!
kiterunner
31-01-18, 09:51
What I would particularly like to know is whether they are receiving computer files from the GRO and using them to replace their existing version of the birth index, or matching them against their existing file and copying the MMN over when they find a match, and if so, whether all details have to match exactly, or if they are using any kind of "fuzzy matching" which could lead to the MMN being added to the wrong record. Or if they are getting the information from, say, printouts, and typing it in, or even being allowed to look through the birth certificates and transcribing the MMN from those. So I hope they do eventually let us know which it is!
It looks like the same sort of population as you get with British Newspapers: a selection across regions and time periods, rather than one period or region at a time. A cunning way to keep us looking.
It will be interesting to see whether the ones GRO ignore will ultimately appear.
kiterunner
04-02-18, 22:41
FMP have replied to someone's question about it on Facebook thus:
its something we are experimenting, and once we feel we have enough results, we may make a formal announcement.
I have no idea what that means!
FMP have replied to someone's question about it on Facebook thus:
its something we are experimenting, and once we feel we have enough results, we may make a formal announcement.
I have no idea what that means!
Translation - I am the FB person and have been given 4 different answers from the 3 different people I asked and this is the only response I could come up with. :rolleyes:
being allowed to look through the birth certificates and transcribing the MMN from those
I'll transcribe for free if this is the case.
a selection across regions and time periods, rather than one period or region at a time. A cunning way to keep us looking.
I find this approach frustrating and am less likely to look because it doesn't help if you don't find someone. Is it because they aren't there, are mistranscribed or they haven't gotten around to the records I need?
FMP have replied to someone's question about it on Facebook thus:
its something we are experimenting, and once we feel we have enough results, we may make a formal announcement.
I have no idea what that means!
That's abit cryptic & there was a small announcement in their Friday email the other week hence my original post.
kiterunner
05-02-18, 12:30
Yes, that's one of the things I don't understand about their FB reply, Jay.
Is there a different place than normal at FMP to do these lookups?
If I search on 'Civil Births in Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records' a warning comes up under the 'MOTHER'S LAST NAME' box which reads "This should be her unmarried name and can only be used for births from 1911 onwards".
kiterunner
05-02-18, 17:32
They haven't updated the help info, Merry. You can use the same search page as normal.
Thanks Kate. It must just be a fluke that every search I did turned up nothing, so I lost confidence in it!
kiterunner
06-02-18, 08:54
If you want to see some examples of records which have had the MMN added, do a search for a range of pre-1911 dates and just specify the MMN on your search, leaving the main name fields blank.
Doh! I should have thought of that!! Thanks.
Can't you get the mother's maiden name by looking on the GRO?
Yes, but you have to search five years at a time and male/female separately, which is a bit of a bind.
I wanted to see if FMP's records matched the GRO where mmn spellings have been mashed by the GRO, but haven't been able to remember more than a couple, neither of which have been covered by FMP thus far.
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