Indexing: Lessons from the Trench

If there is anything that makes me pull my hair out it is indexing. I have tried or investigated a number of options:

• Buy a software program
• Use Microsoft Word
• Hire someone
• Use your in-program database
• Work with Artificial Intelligence
• Construct an index manually

I have investigated or even used some of these five options. Here are my observations, but there are some steps you need to think about first.

As the author, you need to think about what you have written and what you want to have indexed. A series of stories may require different indexing “rules” than an every person manuscript using an ahnentafel system of numbering. Each of the attached images have their own rules noted .

I recommend manually indexing a chapter or two, just to understand what the rules are that you want to use.

I have written two books now, and both were rather similar in their indexing principles. Each was a series of independent articles/chapters that were person focused. Each person of interest had their own chapter, but might be mentioned in another chapter.

I wanted a NAME list and a PLACE list. In genealogy we rarely index other words because usually your audience is searching for names and places. Next, you need to think about what granularity you want in the index. If you have multiple countries you might want to sort by Country > State > County > Town/Township or even farm name (important in Scandinavian countries).

Names can be trickier. If in one paragraph you talk about Sue and Ed Murphy and then on the next page talk about Sue and Ed or just Ed, you will need to make a decision as to whether the second entry even gets included. How will you manage references to women who change their name at marriage or immigration? What granularity will you index names? I decided not to do every person mentioned as I had hundreds of witnesses to baptisms who were never critical to the outcome.

For my books, I decided that the focus person of each chapter would appear in the index in bold. I would not index their name in their chapter. All name changes would also be indexed but would refer to the entry for the person of interest. Spelling variations (usually found in my footnotes) would not be indexed, nor would analytical tables, or summaries of any kind. I also decided that the primary person of interest name would be the one given at birth. You can make different decisions than these.

Let’s take a very quick look at each option.

INDEXING SOFTWARE: Unfortunately, these software programs are set up for scientists and not genealogists. All cost money, with a different pricing structures. Some even admit that the indexing process using their software will take hours and as a first time user, it may be days. First time users will spend a lot of time learning the system. None of these are as easy as the developer is touting.

There are several programs, but one that is relatively new on the market is TExtract. Another, I looked at pretty seriously was PDF Index Generator. A free product that she professionals use is Cindex

I have not used any of these but they intrigued me for a while.

MICROSOFT WORD INTERNAL INDEXER
This approach requires you to have your book in Word. You create your word list by going through your book and tagging desired words for your index. Here’s a YouTube video about how to use Word to index: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRFt34oXRDM

HIRE AN INDEXER
There are people who do this for a living. You may be tempted to have your book publisher do this as part of his fee but you ight investigate a local indexer first.

The website of the American Society of Indexers has a directory of indexers with contact information.

IN-PROGRAM INDEX
If you have dutifully recorded all your data into a genealogical program like RootsMagic or FamilyTreeMaker, and you want the kind of report they produce, then you can publish through them a reasonable documentation of your work, with footnotes and a name index and place index. Since I am working mostly with indirect evidence that necessitates looking at myriads of bits of information to make a conclusion, this option only works for me if I wish to get my direct evidence recorded on paper. This may, however, work for you.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLEGENCE
I tried using AI to do an index on my 330 page book. Although I am confident that AI will do this task easier in the future and that I probably had incomplete prompts, I do not think AI is ready for prime time yet. After eight hours I did have an index with page numbers, but it missed key people and key entry pages. There were at least 20 independent steps to get to a high-level index. To check its work I would require me to go through the book page by page to see if AI got it right–at each step. I decided that the rigor of checking AI at each step and still not getting it right was not worth it.

DO IT MYSELF
I decided to do it myself with on both books. An image of the first page of the name index is above and the image of the first page of the place index is to the left.

I stated my principles at the top, then used a table to standardize the format of the place and name hierarchy. The Place Index is a single table and they Name Index is a double column.

To get it to look like this you will need to master Section Breaks (continuous and next page).

No matter what system you use to index your book, you will want to review it closely for commissions, and errors of hierarchy.

Before I indexed my first book, I asked Elizabeth Shown Mills how she indexed Evidence Explained (600+ pages). I assumed she had the publisher do it. No, she did it manually and stated that no one else knew the nuances of the language she used and the challenges it would bring to indexing.

I wish you luck. There should be one take away—your book must have an index, if you want it to be useful to future generations.

Happy hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last post: Thanksgiving was spent with the grandkids; Christmas and New Years celebrated quietly at home. Other than that—worked on the book, and then worked on it some more. I am doing a last read now before I publish a draft. I have designed the cover and worked on the back matter (indexes, fan charts etc.) I am worried that the images are too dark; we’ll see.

The Strength of Cluster Research (AKA FAN Club)

Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image: 1190 Page: 223; AD AID v92622a.b1190.s223, Kiel Olsson death entry (12 April 1727).

No record identified the birth of Kiehl Olsson. In 1686 all Swedish pastors–urban and rural– were required to maintain records of baptisms, marriages and burials. Kiehl was born before 1686. In Hishult, the records begin in 1682, but as the initial pastor aged, the record keeping became more erratic and the penmanship less legible. With those challenges, who was the father of Kiehl Olsson who died 12 April 1727 in Hishult, Halland län, Sweden?

Identity is based on rational geography, personal identifiers (like birth dates etc.) that make sense and a consistent cluster of friends and family. This summary shows the strength of cluster research and how a consistent family cluster can force us to look more closely at what seems to be logical personal identifiers.

Three records provide a birth year for Kiehl or give a range:

• Kiehl died in 1717 at age 74.[1] Calculated birth year is 1653.
• During this era, Sweden taxed individuals until they turned 63. Kiehl was taxed until 1713, indicating a birth year of c. 1650.[2] This is consistent with his age given at death.
• He married in 1686.[3] If this was a first marriage, Kiehl was probably about 26 years old or a birth year of c. 1661.

The range of birth years for Kiehl is 1650 to 1661. Birth years of the elderly can be exaggerated and no one wanted to be taxed beyond age 63, making these calculated birth years normally more reliable than the estimated age at marriage. The source independence of Kiehl’s age at death and his aging out can be questioned as the informant of one had probably told the informant of the other the birth information. How reliable are the sources we have to work with?

Kiehl probably had a first marriage. Without going into all the reasons, there is a young unmarried woman named Kirstin Kiehlsdotter “hanging around” the Kiehl Olsson family at the time of Kiel’s marriage to Kirstin Pehrsdotter. Kirstin K. had to be at least 15 and probably about 21 years of age when she first served as a witness to a baptism of Hedewig Håkansdotter (father: Håkan Olsson, a sibling of Kiehl’s) in 1698.[4] Her range of birth was between 1677 and 1683, before Kiehl’s marriage to Kirstin Pehrsdotter. Kirstin Kiehlsdotter was a child of a first marriage of Kiehl Olsson.

If Kiehl was born in 1661, he was between the ages of 16 and 22 when Kirstin was born. If Kiehl was born in 1650, he was between the ages of 27 and 33 when Kirstin was born. Since Swedes did not marry in their teen years, our range of acceptable years narrows for Kiehl’s birth to 1655 to 1661.

Kiehl’s father would have to be named Oluf, Ole, Olur, etc., and be of the right age to father a child between 1655 and 1661. He would need to reside in Hishult Parish and have geographic connections similar to Kiehl’s.

There are five men living in 1688 of about the right age named Oluf who died in the parish after record keeping began. Only one has a family cluster in common with Kiehl….Oluf Håkansson of Göstorphult #2 and Bjänared.[5] (Location is important here.)

Kiehl’s world revolved around this man. Again without repeating a 41 page research report….:

• Bengta Olsdotter was an Identified sibling to Kiehl.[6]
• Bengta Olsdotter’s father was Oluf Håkansson of Göstorphult & Bjärnared.[7]
• In 1697, Hedewig Olsdotter’s parents were identified as Oluf Håkansson and Elsa Svensdotter of Göstorphult.[8]
• Håkan Olufsson is the right age to be a sibling and shared residency with Kiehl on the Göstorphult and Bjärnared farms.[9]
• Kiehl inherited Göstorphult #2 farm from Oluf Håkansson and then inherited the management of Bjärnared farm from him in 1700 and 1702 respectively.[10]
• The three identified siblings, Bengta, Hedewig and Håkan or their spouses or children, witnessed each other children’s baptisms nine times.[11]

Our hypothesis is that Oluf Håkansson of Göstorphult #2 and Bjänared was the father of Kiehl Olsson.

So what’s the problem?

Oluf Håkansson’s birth year is “off.” Oluf died in 1705 at age 66 resulting in a year of birth of 1639.[12] If his age at death is accurate, then Oluf married and had Kiehl in 1653 or age 14—very unlikely; or in 1650 or age 11–even more unlikely. If Kiehl was born at the end of the range of his birth years (1661), then Oluf was 22 when Kiehl was born. That works; however, of the three age-based estimates for Kiehl’s birth year, the use of an estimate for age at time of marriage is the most unreliable, but in this case, it produces the most logical result.

With no records being kept prior to 1682, the taxable generations like Oluf and Kiehl were guessing their age. The age of the elderly is often exaggerated by the family. Alternatively, the taxable person may have guessed their age to benefit themselves to the tax man. Oluf was possibly 66 when he died in 1705, but Kiehl was 67 years old, not 74.

A timeline (not shown here) illustrates that even with Kiehl born at the extreme end of the range of possible birth years, the rest of his timeline works without overlaps or unexplained events in irrational years.

In the end, an elected birth year for Kiehl of c. 1661 produces a result that is consistent with the birth of his daughter Kirstin Kiehlsdotter/ the birth of his father, and places him in the cluster of Bengta, Hedewig and Håkan as a sibling. His mother was perhaps Elsa Svensdotter.

Do you agree? The strength of the familial cluster (FAN Club) forces us to rationalize the birth year. Let me know what you think. Or, is there some other Oluf lurking out there who died prior to 1688 and who was the father of Kiehl? What do you think?

Happy Hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last post: Spent five weeks in Massachusetts attending the NERGC conference and with my descendants (who are just darling). I walked one to and from school almost every day, made their breakfasts and school lunches. n the genealogy front, I got selected to give a FamilyTree webinar this year for BCG and present a workshop and lecture at NGS 2026. See the Certification Discussion Group website for our latest announcement, which I will get to right after I post this. I have been working on this article for a while and it’s a bit of a mess. Writing this blog has allowed me to see where I am unnecessarily repeating information.

FAN Club refers to Friends/Family, Associates and Neighbors and was coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
[1]Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image: 1190 Page: 223; AD AID v92622a.b1190.s223, Kiehl Olsson death entry (12 April 1727).
[2] Hallands läns landskontor (N) EI:102 (1713) Image: 12320 Page: 2499; AD AID v98680a.b12320.s2499, Kiehl Olsson aged out (1713).
[3]Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image: 560 Page: 95; AD AID v92622a.b560.s95, Kiehl Olsson-Kirstin Pehrsdotter marriage entry (18 July 1686).
[4] Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image: 340 Page: 51; AD AID v92622a.b340.s51, Hedewig Håkansdotter baptism entry (19 August 1698).
[5] Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image: 1130 Page: 211; AD AID v92622a.b1130.s211, Oluf Håkansson burial entry (4 June 1705).
[6] Hallands läns landskontor t o m ca 1905 (N) EI:72 (1703) Image 14400 / Page 2879 (AID: v98670a.b14400.s2879, NAD: SE/LLA/10889-1) Hishult, Bjärnared, Bengta in household of Kiehl Olufsson.
[7] Hallands läns landskontor t o m ca 1905 (N) EI:70 (1702) Image 12740 / Page 7507 (AID: v98669a.b12740.s7507, NAD: SE/LLA/10889-1), Halland County, Hishult, Göstorphult #2, Bengta Olufsdotter identified as a daughter of Oluf Håkansson.
[8] Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image 1060 / Page 197 (AID: v92622a.b1060.s197, NAD: SE/LLA/13152), Hedewig.Olufsdotter death entry (11 July 1697).
[9] You will have to take my word on this on. I don’t want to lengthen this report if unnecessary.
[10] Hallands läns landskontor t o m ca 1905 (N) EI:28 (1688) Image 3650 / Page 3297 (AID: v98653b.b3650.s3297, NAD: SE/LLA/10889-1) Hishult, Göstorphult #2, Oluf Håkansson and Kiehl Olsson.
[11] Hedewig died young and does not appear as a witness. The other two and Kiehl served as witnesses nine times of the twelve children who had witnesses recorded.
[12] Hishult (L, N) CI:1 (1682-1733) Image: 1130 Page: 211; AD AID v92622a.b1130.s211, Oluf Håkansson burial entry (4 June 1705).

Alan Roy Jacobson & the 43-K class

My uncle died in WWII flying over Germany. I never met him. While cleaning out some items, I discovered that I had his “annual” created during flight school inEagle Pass, Texas. You can find the entire annual under Resources in this website. He was in class 43-K. My brother, Jim Jacobson, has has collected more information about him but here is a biography of his brief life.[1]

Alan Roy Jacobson was born 8 April 1921, at home near Britt, Hancock County, Iowa, to Christian Jacobson (1883–1950) and Emma (Anderson) Jacobson (1882–1941). 

 He grew up in Britt, where he appeared in the household with his parents in the 1925 Iowa census and again in the 1930 U.S. census. He was a member of the Congregational Church in Britt. 

Family and community glimpses hint at a lively small-town childhood: at about age one, he famously managed to get into kerosene, frightening everyone, but he recovered quickly; and at age five his kindergarten class celebrated with ice cream, wafers, and homemade cookies—brought and served by his mother and the teacher—“a treat on Allen Jacobsen,” as the paper put it. 

Alan’s early education stayed rooted in Britt. He graduated from Britt High School on 26 May 1938, and then from Britt Junior College on 23 May 1940—a commencement shared with the high school, where the address was given by Mason Ladd, Dean of the State University of Iowa Law School (a detail that would later feel like foreshadowing).  By 4 September 1941, he was a law student at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.  That same year brought personal loss: his mother, Emma, died of cancer. 

Alan continued and completed his studies, graduating in 1942 with a B.A. degree from the State University of Iowa (Iowa City). 

On 11 April 1942, he married Marguerite Hall (born 1922)—with the marriage recorded at Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, and an alternate location noted as St. Louis, Missouri in one source. 

Alan entered the military in earnest on 8 February 1943, beginning training as a pilot and eventually attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant with the 78th AAF Fighter Group. His path to combat flying was not straightforward: he spent Christmas 1943 at Ft. Douglas, Utah, initially waiting to train as a bomber co-pilot, but he was deeply unhappy with that direction—he wanted fighters, specifically P-47s—and he ultimately did get selected for fighter training, including time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Eagle Pass, Texas. 

On 6 April 1944, he shipped out for Duxford, England, serving with the 78th Fighter Group, 83rd Fighter Squadron; his name was remembered among the pilots who died in service. 

Alan was killed in action during operations over Germany in November 1944. On 9 November 1944 he crashed his Thunderbolt about 1 km south of Oeschelbronn and “was found dead,” while an alternate death entry places the event on 10 November 1944 “east of Pforzhelm [Pforzheim].” 

Alan was buried on 11 November 1944 in the  Oeschelbronn cemetery, with another note indicating Isenburg, Germany, and later reburials after the war—one noted a military cemetery in Belgium, and ultimately to Evergreen Cemetery in Britt, Iowa. 

My brother Jim later emphasized that the formal statement describing Alan’s death was written by Ed Miller, Alan’s wingman, and that Miller and fellow flight-school classmate Jack LaGrange (a POW after a crash landing) narrated Alan’s wartime experience in vivid detail—hours of “Remember this” and “Remember that” as they turned the pages of Alan’s diary together. 

“Statement from Lt. Ed Miller:
Lt. Jacobson called saying he had been hit. I saw his plane smoking and called about it. He then pulled up to approximately 2,500 feet, clouds preventing his gaining more altitude. He was losing altitude when he rolled the plane on its back. The nose dropped immediately, and it was not until the plane was at about 200 feet when I saw him leave the aircraft. His chute opened but did not billow. He hit the ground a split second later. I circled the inert body four times very low and could observe no movement.”

 Jim preserved haunting specifics: the aircraft had been built in New York only months earlier, accepted by the Army in July 1944, and was “95% burned” on impact; the crash site later became the concession stand for a soccer field. 

War’s aftermath unfolded slowly. In probate on 28 March 1946 (Garner, Hancock County, Iowa), Alan’s will left his possessions to Marguerite H. Jacobson, and if she predeceased him, then to his sister Betty Carol Jacobson; the estate was valued at $550. 

Jim also recorded family memories around the long process of wartime burials and returns, noting that Alan’s body was returned in February 1949, and that their father, Chris, “never recovered from Alan’s loss,” dying in June 1950. 

Alan’s name endured in the family, including as the namesake of Jim’s son, Alan Christopher Jacobson. 

[1] Facts were collected by me; ChatGPT wrote the narrative, I did the fact checking.