Program Design

Obtain a list of all locations in the state:
An attempt is made to locate and obtain a comprehensive list of places names, past and present, for the state under study. The list should include county and township names as well, because some churches were not built within city or town limits.

Search FHL Catalog for church records:
Every place name in the state is entered into the “Place” search option of the catalog of the Family History Library to determine whether the Library has on microfilm the original (not published or compiled) records of the parish in question.

Secure permission to extract data:
A letter is sent to each parish that is or may be the custodian of church records on microfilm. This is our “due diligence” effort to secure permission to extract personal data on German immigrants in situations where copyright considerations are important. We do not use records if we are specifically instructed to the contrary.

Contact other parishes:
Parishes or churches not represented in the Family History Library are contacted and provided information on the project. They are asked to provide photocopies to be studied as part of this project.

Evaluate records of each parish:
A veteran paleographer reviews the records of each parish on microfilm or photocopies to determine approximately how many German immigrants may be featured, and how difficult the task of deciphering the handwriting may be.

Extract immigrant data:
The assignment to extract all possible data on German immigrants is given to one extractor or to two extractors working together. The extractors are current or former students of the History 422 (Germanic Paleography) course at BYU or have commensurate experience in reading old German (“Gothic”) handwriting and Fraktur type set letters. Extractors have ready access to Meyers Orts- (1912 German gazetteer of Germany), German maps, and reverse alphabetical indexes for all German provinces.

Check extracted data:
A veteran paleographer is assigned to review all extracted data. This includes a search for any persons who or data that may have been overlooked. Additions and corrections are made where necessary.

Conduct quality assurance audit:
Prof. Minert reviews all checked records, looking for personal names, place names, and other data that are not logical or have highly unlikely spelling variations. Again, additions and corrections are made where needed.

Edit all data for format and style:
An editor reviews every detail of each entry to ensure that format and style rules have been observed. This review includes the logic of dates (such as burial dates following death dates) and the placement of punctuation.

Compile all data:
Finished parish/church files are organized into book format. The parishes are listed alphabetically by location (city, town, or township).

Compile every-name index:
An index featuring the name of every person mentioned in the entire compilation is constructed. Some of the name included in the index are parents who never left Europe and spouses born in the United States. Thus the number of entries (immigrants) in the compilation is much smaller than the number of all persons mentioned. Currently, the task of compiling the index is done by the publisher.

Lay out book:
All other necessary elements are added to the compilation, such as the title page, the copyright page, the introduction, and the “How to Use This book” explanations.

Print the book:
The publisher has the book printed and bound.

Program Design

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Comments on team members:
The editor of the book is Prof. Roger P. Minert. Co-compilers of the book are those students or alumni who have spent at least forty (40) hours extracting data from church records. All royalties from the sale of the books are distributed among the co-compilers.

Invitation to donate to this program:
Any persons, churches, groups, agencies, etc. who would like to support this program will be pleased to know that all funds donated are used to pay the wages of student extractors. Under BYU policy, only full-time students may be hired under this research program. Students work for five to twenty hours per week, and the money earned from this project helps pay tuition, housing, etc. Those who wish to contribute to this program may initiate the process by contacting Ken McCarty of BYU at 801-422-4180. Of course, there is no minimum required amount and all such donations are tax-deductible. Under specific circumstances, donations qualify for matching funds from general BYU donations.