The International Genealogical Index is available to view on microfiche at Tameside Local Studies Library and at the Family History Centre, Patterdale Road, but nowadays it is more common to use the I.G.I. on-line at the Morman (Latter Day Saints) Family Search.org website. For reasons of their faith the Mormons believe in the baptism of their ancestors by proxy into the Morman faith. For this purpose they have filmed millions of entries from Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts all over the world. This information is searchable on-line for everyone. To view the IGI you will have to visit the old Family Search site

There are two separate parts to the I.G.I.

• Their 'controlled extraction' programme i.e., taken from filmed Parish Registers and BT's.
• Private Patron submissions from church members.

In general those entries from their controlled extraction programme can be regarded as accurate, making allowance for the fact that errors can happen when transcribing any original sources, but those entries from private patron submissions are to be viewed with extreme caution. The rules governing proof of ancestry for church members are not as rigorous as those required by family historians, and were indeed interpreted with a considerable degree of licence, especially in the early days. Be especially careful with entries that say 'Relative' or 'About'. In the past church members went about collecting as many entries of the same surname in an area as possible, without proving any relationship between them. Also having found a marriage of their ancestors in a certain place they could assume that he/she had been baptised in the same area about 25 years previously, again without any real proof at all.

Whenever you find an entry on the I.G.I. always check at the bottom of the page whether it is from a patron submission or from their controlled extraction programme. If you click on the source call number you should be able to find the film number it was taken from, and then be able to order the film, on loan, from the LDS Family History Library Catalogue to view at your nearest Family History Centre.

A large number of records in the controlled extraction programme were taken from Bishop's Transcripts. This is because the Parish Registers at the time were still at the church and the incumbent had refused permission to film, so the Mormons went to the relevant County Record Office to film the BT's.

Although the I.G.I. is possibly is one of the most useful tools available to the family historian It is vital that it is treated as an index only - it is not a primary source, but it is extremely useful in trying to pinpoint ancestors for further research. There are, however, many pitfalls and without referring back to the original parish registers and or bishop's transcripts, it is extremely easy to find that you are researching the wrong line altogether. You can get very useful leads from the I.G.I., but the parish registers often contain the extra information required as proof: examples:

• Twenty three baptisms attributed to Robert on the I.G.I., on referring back to the parish register, five of these baptisms referred to his son Robert Junior and that Robert Senior and Robert Junior were living at separate farms.
• People with common surnames with nothing else to distiguish them on the I.G.I. The Parish Registers reveal that they had different trades and lived at opposite ends of the parish.
• 1st March 1807, baptism of Ann the daughter of Richard Cartwright and Ann his wife the daughter
  of David and Tabitha Jackson, born 1st February 1807.

So without referring back to the original registers, you can also be missing out on vital extra information.

Some tips on searching the I.G.I.

Go to www.familysearch.org and click on the blue banner in the right-hand menu to go to the old site, then click on Search - Advanced Search then International Genealogical Index.

All entries on the I.G.I. were added in a series of batches each with their own individual number, called batch numbers. When you think you may have found your ancestor's birth or marriage on the I.G.I. click on the batch number at the bottom of the search results page. Now go back to the original search screen and leave everything blank except for the SURNAME, REGION and BATCH NUMBER. This should reveal everyone with the same surname either getting baptised or married within the given timeframe covered by that batch number. There is a fabulous website devised by Hugh Wallis which used to do all this work for you, click here for further information. The site is very useful in letting you know the coverage of the I.G.I. and also to make a note of the various batch numbers you would be interested in searching. (You can use these batch numbers on the new Family Search website).

You may want to try and find out if your ancestor had any brothers or sisters. Go to the I.G.I. search screen and imput the names of the parents in the right-hand fields, click the drop down menu for births/christenings, click the drop down menu and put in +/-20 years, then a relevant date, enter a region, country and county. This should reveal all baptisms associated with, for example, William and Susannah Cartwright. Be careful though there could be more than one couple called William and Susannah Cartwright having children in the same area at that time. Checking the parish register microfilm could possible identify which is which.

We are quite lucky in Tameside in that most of the parish registers in the area have been filmed and are on the I.G.I. up until at least 1837 and beyond. There are some exceptions, click here to visit my page on Missing Parish Records in Tameside.

NEW Family Search

Family Search’s new site is now the main route into their records, which are growing all the time, some are indexed and some are browse only. It’s a good idea to have a browse around the collections before you begin searching.

It is very much still a work in progress and learning the best search techniques is also evolving. So far I am finding that if you always use advanced search and match all terms exactly, you can adjust your criteria at any time by clicking on the little down arrow next to REFINE YOUR SEARCH in the top left-hand corner. Family Search will then give you the results which match your criteria and then a list of near matches. You can still search for siblings on the new site with a similar process to the IGI and you can still use the batch numbers from Hugh Wallis’ website.

Remember, though that some of the new records are browse only, particularly all churches within the Manchester Diocese. There are also new records on the site which are indexes only to various census and nonconformist records, but these will take you through to pay sites to view the images – fine if you already have a subscription.

An interesting bit of extra help from the Family Search is while searching censuses, particularly 1911. Find My Past does not include place of birth in their search results, but Family Search does. This can save quite a bit of time when searching for common names.

Family Search Good and growing coverage of C of E parish registers for the Cheshire Towns of Tameside. I can't be exact, but it seems that most of these are covered from the start of the particular churches records until about 1906. These are indexes only, but most of the original films can be consulted at Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre - click here to got to their church register holdings.

• Dukinfield St John's
• St Mark's
• Hyde St Thomas
• St Georges
• Millbrook St James
• Mottram in Longdendale St Michael's
• Stalybridge New St Georges
• Stalybrigge Old St Georges
• Stockport St Mary's

Non Conformist Catholic Churches:

• Stalybridge St Peter's
• Hyde St Paul's