There are several compiled indices of US Public Records which have been referred to as the "US Public Records Index". In its various forms, it is compiled from an assortment of different records which are open to the Public in the United States.
Who compiles this information?
There seem to be at least four different collections which have been published under this name over the years. First, the collections on Ancestry.com:
The "Old" USPRI (current data on living people)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009: Randy Seaver's Blog Genea-Musings: "Old" US Public Records Index gone from Ancestry.com
It looks like http://www.ancestry.com/ has taken the United States
Public Records Index database down from their collection. They said
one week ago that they would do this in an Ancestry.com blog post:
I only did a very quick search, but I did not find the Ancesty blog post Randy quoted from. He goes on to say:
The previous U.S. Public Records Index was for the time period of
about 2000 to the present, although the user could never tell what
years were included for a specific locality or a specific person.
The "New" USPRI ("historical" data)
On Thursday, March 26, 2009, Randy posted about the "New" U.S. Public Records Index on Ancestry.com and his blog post says Ancestry.com was showing the source information as follows:
"Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index [database
on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009.
Original data: Merlin Data Publishing Corporation, comp. Historical
Residential White Page, Directory Assistance and Other Household
Database Listings. Merlin Data Publishing Corporation, 215 South
Complex Drive, Kalispell, MT 59901.
On the Ancestry.com blog, Heather Erickson posted on April 7, 2010: More U.S. Public Records = More Ancestry Hints describes the updated collection. The link in the blog post to the U.S. Public Records Index goes to a landing page which has the following information and cautions:
The U.S. Public Records Index is a compilation of various public
records spanning all 50 states in the United States from 1950 to 1993.
These records are all accessible to the general public by contacting
the appropriate agency. Ancestry.com has simply made the process of
finding certain public records easier by making them available in an
online searchable database.
and
As Ancestry.com is neither the author nor the compiler of the data in
its indexes, we cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy of this
information.
The included data sets are:
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,
2010. Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical
Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings
About U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
The U.S. Public Records Index is a compilation of various public
records spanning all 50 states in the United States from 1950 to 1993.
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2
Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2
[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,
2010. Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings,
Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings
About U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2
The U.S. Public Records Index is a compilation of various public
records spanning all 50 states in the United States from 1950 to 1993.
There is nothing in the current descriptions of this index to indicate which third party compiles this database, or why there are multiple "Volumes" of this index.
The FamilySearch.org USPRI
Family Search now has a collection United States Public Records Index. The catalog description says:
This collection is an index of names, birthdates, addresses, phone
numbers, and possible relatives of people who reside in the United
States between 1970 and 2010. These records were generated from
telephone directories, property tax assessments, credit applications,
and other records available to the public. The collection is now 53%
complete. New records will be added as the data is processed.
Note that this collection covers a different timespan than what Ancestry was calling the "historical" USPRI back around the changeover in 2009. The 'learn more' link on the catalog description page goes to the Family Search Wiki article, United States, Public Record Index (FamilySearch Historical Records). In addition to the catalog description already quoted above, the wiki says:
These records have been gathered from multiple sources. The original
sources are not available.
Farther down in the article, the section How to Remove Records from the U.S. Public Records Collection describes how to opt-out by making a request at PeopleFinders.com.
PeopleFinders is a leading Data-as-a-Service ("DaaS") provider for
consumers and businesses seeking detailed insights on people, places
and things. The Company is one of the largest owners of public records
data in the U.S. including information on virtually every adult in the
U.S., and has unique access to other commercial data sources. This
proprietary data ownership and access powers PeopleFinders’ network of
websites and services that help customers find and connect with
anyone, anywhere.
PeopleFinders.com is a premier online service that helps consumers
quickly search billions of records spanning the last 40 years, and
delivers more comprehensive and accurate results than competitor
sites. The service provides access to "people", "place" and "thing"
searches on a subscription ("membership") or per-transaction basis
including: people search, phone and address records, background
checks, criminal checks, business ownership and other public records.
PeopleFinders.com was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in
Sacramento, California.
This site is the most reliable source for locating family members,
friends, classmates, military buddies or anyone you want to get in
touch with. We realize that few things compare to the joy of
reconnecting with people you haven't seen in years, and we're ready to
help you find anyone using a name, address, email or most any other
information you have.
However, at the very bottom of the article, the Wiki says:
Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the
information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record
collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and
archive for the original records.
"United States Public Records Index." Index and Images. FamilySearch.
http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2013. Citing
MyRelatives.com, a third party aggregator of publicly available
information.
Clearly the information in the Ancestry.com USPRI and the FamilySearch.org USPRI cannot be identical if one collection has coverage from 1950 to 1993, and the other has coverage from 1970 to 2010. But how many companies have provided this information to these two sites? Is the MyRelatives.com site owned by Peoplefinders.com or vice-versa, and are either one of these companies a rebranded version of what in 2009 was the Merlin Data Publishing Corporation?
Whatever the source of this information may be, it is one of the most annoying sources ever, since it compiles data from all these sources and throws it all into one big pot with no way of telling which original record it might have come from. Even worse, I've seen this collection cited as the United States Public Records Office, which makes it sound like some official government entity (as opposed to a commercial data provider). I'd like to find out more about the compiler(s) of these collections so I can give the real history to the people who are mis-citing it.