Hi, Unfortunately not all FHC's have the latest equipment. Which FHC are you using? There are two types of film readers one is designed to read the 35mm film and the other is for the 16mm film. Make sure you are using the correct film reader. Even so the 16mm film is difficult to work with as it is still small on the 16mm reader. I always kept a magnifying glass with me to help. Others say putting a sheet of yellow paper on the reading surface helps.
All films are divided into Item numbers so the first frame you will come to is one that will say "Item 1" the next frame will have the cover of the book sometimes you can read it clearly It might say for example O. 1867 which would mean Obitos 1867. Or B. 1843-1847 Meaning baptisms for 1843-1847, the next frame will be page one usually it repeats the information on the cover in more detail. The next page should start the actual records. The only pages that have numbers are the right page. The number is in the upper right corner. When recording the pages I will say Page 2 left entry or page 2 right entry If there is only one entry per page. Earlier records will have two entries per page so it would be page 2 lower right entry. Get the Idea. Another thing I do when I start a film is to go all the way through and record which books are on the film and the Item number they are in. In books that have multiple years sometimes the first record of the year will have it written at the top of the page but do not count on it. Richard Francis Pimentel Spring, TX Formerly of Epping, New Hampshire -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mary MK Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 2:33 PM To: Azores Genealogy Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Reading LDS Microfilm records I would welcome any tips for working with microfilm marriage, baptism, and death records for the 1870s from Sao Miguel Island. The family history center nearest me does not have high quality readers, and I have trouble reading the script, although I do know basic Portuguese. I also find it hard to keep track of which sections I've already looked at. Are there basic rules of thumb for going through these films efficiently? Are there researchers who have already indexed some of these films? I appreciate any insights from experienced researchers. Thank you! -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
