Genealogy Chat

I've enjoyed reading some of the bizarre mistranscriptions, have come across quite a few myself but please don't blame the transcribers of the 1881 (who were mainly FHS volunteers) for the International playboy and his extensive household. If you look at the images (RG11/0020 folio 126 pages 47 and 48) someone knobbled the original enumerators book to add this household. That must have been done at the archives when access was allowed to the originals rather than by transcribers who were working from the filmed books.

I came across a whole street of 'Jones' mistranscribed as 'Jabes'. As if that surname wasn't enough of a curse.

Job Lippiatt and family on various census, spelt - Lippeat, Lippeatt, Lippite, Lippitte, Lippert, Lippcott and Lippencott - the last 2 being on the same census, Job and wife as Lippencott and the rest of the family as Lippcott!!! It's taken me ages to find this lot - LOL!! Lynne

I eventually found : Barnabus Bartram born Dickleburgh as Barsabus Basham born Dicklebone and I only managed that because he comes from a small Norfolk village so Iended up entering the first part of the village name and searching ten years either side of his birth. having read an entry of Nell's on another thread about capital L and capital S I also have a bunch of Sinkinsons to look into when I get home.

The Telegraph report a few days ago on 1851 from Ancestry said it was transcribed in India. I had a relative in the 1901 census who's place of birth was transcribed as Stepney, Sussex, instead of Steyning. It was so obvious too. Not great when you are searching for William Cook.

Searching for Ursula Wood, nee Ursula Hannah - found her transcribed as Surula in one census and Arsula in another!! The second one gave me a good laugh!! Lynne

Found my Hawkridge family as Himbinge....but it was worth the effort to find that they had a servant called Rosey Balls!

Don't forget that at least you can eventually find them on ancestry if they have been mistranscribed, if you leave out the surname for example. But other sites, such as Scotland's People and some others, insist you put in at least 3 letters of the surname, and may not let you search by birthplace, so if the surname has been mangled, you may never find the entry at all. I would say you get what you pay for, and if ancestry paid people a decent wage to do the transcriptions we would find our subs going way up! But of course FreeCEN is regularly updated, and as it is done by volunteers, there should be fewer mistranscriptions on there. On the other hand, as it is free, searches tend to take ages. Kate.

I've just started looking for my lot on 1851. So far I've got Macaree transcribed as Maxam and Horsup transcribed as Horkep. I can see I'm going to wear out my fingers submitting e-mails to ancestry. Thank God my Tocqueville's weren't in the country then!

No, ancestry pay their transcribers. If you go to their website they are often recruiting for various positions - but in Utah. From what Ive seen - remember the notorious listing obviously on a spare census sheet with all those people from foreign parts including pimps and the head being a international playboy? - It seems they must employ a lot of vacation students. The address entered as place of birth was a well known backpacking chain.

Found one of my families where the head of the household was born 1824 and he had a son born 1831! It wasn't an error in the date either as the son was listed as 'occupation Porter.'

Looking for Nell's Matthews on Ancestry in 1881 - and I think that the unpaid labour of naive fools like me must have been used for that index, or why are some of the errors the same? - I was searching by the first three letters of a place name. There are bound to be errors in the original (Armston is an enumerator's rendition of Hempstead in Norfolk.) but even so it was an eye opener to see how much gibberish there was in the index. And that's the one compiled by family historians, with the help of a few prisoners.

when looking for my great grandmother and grandmother who are both called tryphena, found it in one census as trevenna and in another as stephana

Cas** I think firstly you have to go and live in a non-English-speaking country. Then you get paid about £1 a month to do the transcribing working a 20 hour day six and a half days a week. (OK, I'm guessing!) So by paying our Ancestry subs are we supporting slave-labour?????? Of course, they could have sought out volunteers who might have been more accurate and definitely would have been cheeper, but the other way was quicker!! Merry

Another one I found since was that someone had transcribed DENBIGHSHIRE as DEVONSHIRE - easy enough except the town was WREXHAM! I contacted Ancestry but they won't do anything about such obvious howlers.

Looking for my husband's family the other day on the 1851 census. Looking for the name HOMEWOOD mistranscribed as FAMEWASH!!!!!!!! so they only managed to get three letter's of the name correct! Carol

My Grandad was listed as being ten years older because someone had mistaken a 'tick' for a one! This despite the fact that all the ages had the tick next to them! Luckily I knew his exact birth date otherwise I would have been flummoxed!!

I know the feeling. My Rollins family are down as Rollings, and a Wyatt ancestor is down as Wyat. Hannah Markham is Hanna on one census, and Annah on another census. Not much difference in it, but it matters. Reuben is spelt Ruben, and Cornelius is spelt Cornelious on one census. Also one lad is listed as step-son but then its crossed out. What a help that is!

Just found my Isabell Wright listed as Isabella WEDTY. Jenny

Hi Nell, I have mentioned this one before, 1861 Ancestry insist that HMS Britania was in Portsmouth Harbour, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE!!!! I tried expaining that Northamptonshire is landlocked but they would have none of it.lol My aunt Inez Anne became Iringar on the 1901 & in 1851 my 2x gt grandfather, the head of the family Barker is transcribed as Danker. These things are sent to try us Vivienne