Using the Online Bern Church Records: Difference between revisions

Using the Family History Library Catalog [http://www.familysearch.org/eng (old version)] has made these records a lot more accessible.  By using both sources---the online records, as well as the catalog as a 'finder' tool---I have been able to spend many hours identifying my ancestors in these records.  It may do well to explain the types of records that may be available in this collection:  

The Vechigen records are filmed on 7 microfilms, and span the years 1552-1875.  Two of the films are partials, meaning that the film contains records from another parish on the film; five of the films contain only records from Vechigen.  I have noticed that the films that are divided between two parishes tend to be divided into different categories, while films that only contain records from one parish have about a 50/50 chance of being divided into books or conglomerated into one division.  For example, under Vechigen there is one entry: "Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1650-1875".  I don't want to spend hours browsing through this vague description, so this is where I bring up the Family History Library Catalog [http://www.familysearch.org/eng (Old Version)] and find the corresponding entry.  I found it - it's Film #2005803, which in actuality contains 8 different item numbers, including 20 years of "Auswärtige Bürger" baptisms, marriages 1650-1875, and deaths 1728-1773.  I then spent about 15 minutes jumping through the film to find out which image number corresponds with which item number (for example, item 5, the Marriage Roll for 1764-1808, begins on image 199).  I keep a log of these records, so that I can find them easily when I need to return to this entry.  I can have a parish "mapped" out in about an hour, and be ready to start researching my family in these records.    

By using the church books online and the Family History Library Catalog in tandem, I've been able to fully utilize the Bern Church Books images to verify and extend my family history in Bern, Switzerland.