Histopolis Grave Index - Benefits - Balance - Fields - Rules - Participate
Histopolis Grave Index - Fields
The Histopolis Grave Index contains 7 data fields for each grave: Surname, Given Names, Gender, Date of Birth, Date of Death, Age and Source.
Surname
The surname (family name) of the individual as presented on the source site.
Capitalization
We attempt to display surnames using the correct capitalization and consider surnames using different capitalization to be different surnames. Some source sites uses all-caps for surnames or contain obviously wrong capitalization (sMITH) so we may change the capitalization. Please contact the webmaster if you encounter a surname that is capitalized incorrectly.
Unknown Surnames
Unknown surnames are indicated by a single question mark "?".
Given Names
The given names of the individual. The actual contents of this field depends on the indexing rule used to index the site and may contain the complete given names or only the initials of the given names. Under some situations the capitialization of the given names may be changed.
Gender
A source grave listing rarely explicitly indicates the gender of an individual but researchers can usually assume the gender based on the individual's given names and other information contained in the grave listing. Since the Histopolis Grave Index may contain only the initials of the individual, we have added a gender field (M = male, F = female) that is inferred based on the given names and other information contained in the source grave listing.
If the gender could not be inferred with reasonable confidence the field is left blank. An asterisk (*) after the gender indicates that it was inferred and may be incorrect. Please contact the webmaster if you encounter a gender that was incorrectly inferred.
Date of Birth
The date of birth of the individual. The actual contents of the field depends on the indexing rule used to index the site and may contain the complete date (year, month and day) or only the year of birth.
In some cases the date of birth may be calculated from the age and date of death information from the source grave listing and will contain and asterisk (*) after the date to indicate that it was calculated. Calculated dates are approximate based on the method used to calculate the age and the resolution provided.
Date of Death
The date of death of the individual. The actual contents of the field depends on the indexing rule used to index the site and may contain the complete date (year, month and day) or only the year of death.
In some cases the date of death may be calculated from the date of birth and age information from the source grave listing and will contain and asterisk (*) after the date to indicate that it was calculated. Calculated dates are approximate based on the method used to calculate the age and the resolution provided.
Age
A source grave listing sometimes provides the age of the individual at time of death, but a researcher could normally estimate or calculate the age given the complete date of birth and date of death. Since the Histopolis Grave Index may contain only the year of birth and death, we include the age to assist researchers in identifying the desired index entry.
An asterisk (*) after the age indicated that it was calculated. Calculated ages are approximate and depend on the resolution of the birth and death dates. For example, if the date of birth is 5 June 1890 and the date of death is 6 July 1891 the age will shown as "1y 1m 1d" (1 year, 1 month and 1 day). However if the birth is given as 1890 and the death is given as 1891 the age will be shown as "1y" (no months or days indicated). The actual age could be as little as 1 day (born 31 December 1890, died 1 January 1891) or as much as 1 year 11 months and 30 days (born 1 January 1890, died 31 December 1891). In general, the actual age can be plus or minus one of the smallest unit displayed (year, month or day).
Source
Identifies the source site containing the grave listing corresponding to this grave index entry. We strongly recommend that you visit the source site to confirm the index contents and benefit from the additional information contained in the source grave listing. The Histopolis Grave Index is intended as a tool to help you identify the source sites containing the information you seek and not as a substitute for those sites.
Excluded
The grave index specifically excludes many types of information often provided by a source site, including: date of burial, relationship to other individuals, military rank and affiliation, headstone photo, location of the grave within the cemetery (section, ...), and other notes and miscellaneous information.
Depending on the indexing rule used to index the site, the source site may also contain additional detail for the given names, date of birth and date of death fields.
