Family Search <surnames>

What does it signify on Family Search (IGI) if a surname is given in "angled
brackets" (don't know what to call them!)?
e.g.

Brian Taylor...

"Mary d/o John and Sarah Smith", and transcribed it as Mary on the
grounds that her surname is not explicitly stated, but can be inferred.

The fact that is occurs in all entries within a batch lends weight to this
view.

Does it mean it's a near approximation as to the correct transcription? The
ones I have come across are extracted records, not patron submissions.

nemo...

No, it means that the name is deduced from other data in the record.

CWatters...

Likewise the year of birth is frequently derived from age in census and
displayed in <>

Steven Gibbs...

This used to be the case, but is no longer. In many more recent batches
every surname in the batch is given in angled brackets (for no obvious
reason). Try clicking on the batch number to see if this is happening
in the batch in which you're interested.

Steven Gibbs
Bedford
.

nemo...

I think you'll find that they are christenings in which either the
parents' names are deduced from the child's, or vice versa (I cannot
remember which). Brian Taylor has also pointed this out.

Steven Gibbs...

That's a fair point, and is quite possibly the reason. However the
child's surname in never given in a post-1812 English baptismal register
and the vast majority of extractions from these on the IGI do not use
angled brackets.

nemo...

Yes it's a recent development in the IGI data and IMHO a rather picky
one. I suppose it does *sometimes* happen that a child has a surname
which is different from its parents, but I've never come across a case.

I don't think it's likely to be applied retrospectively. I hope not.

Jenny M Benson...

I've come across it said elsewhere that this use of angled brackets
round the surname occurred throughout one batch and was a "quirk" of one
particular transcriber.

Steven Gibbs
Bedford

This is a standard useage; the commonest examples are in census returns,
where the date of birth is deduced from the age in the return. but it's
found in lots of other places.

John (Bournemouth)

I can see for dates <1792> it has been used as an approximation in submitted
records (that makes sense with the maths symbols).

It doesn't appear to be explained in the 'Help section.

Ken Gibb...

Simply get hold of the PARISH RECORD copy of the area (FILM) & try to
decipher the entry yourself.
i.e. without you "current knowledge".
This at an LDS Family History Centre.
QED.

Ken

Ken Gibb...

Ken & Jill Gibb, gibb@westnet.com.au
Mordialloc,
Vic. Australia.