Transcription Tuesday – Census Errors

Transcriptions are needed in all genealogical research. Transcribing Skills are included in the basic level courses for our students at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. All researchers must strive to acquire this core skill. There is no way around it.

Transcriptions are extremely important for census record databases. Transcribers must be precise. However, they are usually not from the area being transcribed, so they could be unfamiliar with the names on the documents, although these may be very common to the ones researching them. For some transcribers, English may not be their first language. This means that they are transcribing letter by letter, plus trying to decipher the handwriting of different enumerators for each district. They do their best, but some entries are just their best guess.

Transcription errors are not always totally their fault alone, Sometimes, it is the enumerator who misspelled the name by mistake, or guessed the spelling when the person giving the information was illiterate. With this in mind, we need to use a few strategies when searching databases. Remember, a true transcription is exactly as it is written – not editing the original text. The transcriber is entering what was written on the document – whether it is correct or not.

When searching names in any database, remember to use your list of variable spellings. Record every variation that you find. Nicknames may be used as children, but then changed when they become adults. Some may use a middle name as their given name. Surnames may have gone through spelling variations in different time periods. Make note of these in your research notes and add them to your list. Example: The German surname Götz became Gaetz and later became further anglicized to Gates.

When searching, use the most unique name in the family. For this Gates family, sons Osborne and Owen were the most uncommon. When searching the Canadian Census databases for Owen Gates in Nova Scotia for the years 1891, 1901, and 1911, there was only one result. However, he did not show up in the search results for the 1921 census.

We can expand our search by using the first letter and a wildcard (O*).

This time it returned 6 results for the first names beginning with O. One of these was for Orven Gates.

This was a transcription error. The entry was confirmed as Owen by viewing the original image. His family members and neighbours matched the previous entries. You can see where the “W” was mis-transcribed as “RV” making it Orven instead of Owen.

If you find a transcription error in a database, and there is a way to submit a correction, please do so whenever possible. This helps future researchers as the alternate name will be entered into the database for future searches. For Ancestry, it will look like this:

Always, Always check the original image whenever possible to confirm the information entered into the databases has been transcribed correctly. Errors are always possible, especially when the handwriting on the document is a challenge. Compare similar letters written by the same person on the same page to become familiar with his style. And always transcribe everything exactly as it is written.

If you are still not finding the entry you are seeking in the database, you can browse the pages before and after where you are expecting it to be. You should also check all the other websites where that census is recorded. Search in their databases. The person you are looking for may be transcribed correctly there. Check the original images – you may find a clearer copy of that census page.

Census Databases used (Adjust for your research project):
Library and Archives Canada: Censuses
Ancestry.ca: Canadian Census Collection
FamilySearch: Canada Census
Automated Genealogy

Next week we will continue with transcribing census records. In the meantime, review some census entries from your own past research. Check each name and surname on the original image. Did you find any transcription errors? If you did, please report the error.
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As researchers, we have found that there are many skills we need to employ in order to achieve success in our future research projects. Transcription Tuesday will share guidelines and practical suggestions to help our readers to develop the skills for making effective transcriptions, abstracts, and extractions.

Transcription Tuesday previous blog post
Transcription Tuesday Index
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These three core courses demonstrate Transcription principles. They are offered monthly, beginning on the first Monday of every month: Register today!
Methodology-Part 2: Organizing and Skill-Building (Basic Level)
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting (Basic Level)
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents (Advanced)—————————————————-
Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.

Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997

Remember to Honour and Be Thankful

Our students at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies are ready to start another round of online courses on November 1st. As 2021 is winding down, there still is time to complete one more course on our Educational Goals List for this year. Professional genealogists and family historians recognize the need to learn all we can about our research topics of interest. We just don’t know what we don’t know. Online courses allow us to explore new subjects relevant to our projects and refine those research skills needed to succeed in our endeavours.

November means Remembrance Day is coming soon. This is a time to Remember those who fought, and made the ultimate sacrifice, and to Honour our veterans for their service. We are Thankful for all they have done.

Military conflicts are not a new phenomenon. There is not a generation that has not witnessed some sort of conflict and many have family members who participated at some level. If you want to investigate your family’s military involvement, here a few suggestions to explore and document their service. Current scheduled start dates are given – check for additional scheduled dates to register for these courses.

Australian: Military Records (Dec 6th)
Australian: Other Sources for Births, Deaths & Marriages (Nov 1st)
Canadian: Military Records (Dec 6th)
Eastern European: Austrian-Hungarian, German & Russian Empires: Chronology (Nov 1st)
Eastern European: Other Records…Including Census, Land, Military & Tax (Nov 1st)
English/Scottish: Occupations – Military and Services (Dec 6th)
German: Chronological Considerations (Dec 6th)
Irish: Military, Naval and Pension Records (Dec 6th)
Italian: Introduction to Research Outside of Italy (Nov 1st)
Italian: Military & Conscription Records (Not Scheduled)
Research: British India Ancestors (Jan 3rd)
Research: South African Ancestors Including Military Records (Dec 6th)
Research: The National Archives of England (Nov 1st)
Research: United Empire Loyalist Ancestors (Jan 3rd)
Research: U.S. Colonial New England Ancestors (Jan 3rd)
Research: U.S. World War II Ancestors-Part 1 (Jan 3rd)
Research: U.S. World War II Ancestors-Part 2 (Feb 7th)
US: Military Records (Nov 1st)

We also want to Remember and Honour our family members and their contributions to our family’s legacy. We are so Thankful for their cultural heritage and traditions, but also for the memories and current opportunities to celebrate our family’s history. As we prepare for upcoming holidays, make sure to interview family members and ask to see those family photos!

Whatever your plans are for November – continue to pursue your families’ stories! Document your discoveries for the next generation and seek to prove those oral myths and traditions. Make the most of opportunities as they arise, especially with your elderly family members

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The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers quality online education with over 230+ courses to choose from. Some of our courses are topic/country-specific, or provide insight into research methodology, while others are skill-building courses to maximize your research time. The first Monday of a new month means another rotation of courses will start. Most courses feature 6 modules over an 8-week period, easily adapted to most busy schedules. Many courses have been bundled into packages to provide discount options. Take a look at our course calendar and see which courses will accomplish your genealogical education goals. Register today!
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Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.

Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997

Transcription Tuesday – Definitions

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies provides valuable online education for sharpening and refining the research skills used by all levels of family historians and genealogists. Our Basic Level courses cover a wide variety of topics, delivering foundational genealogical education all researchers. The basics of research extend far beyond pedigree charts and family group sheets!

Experience only comes from Practice. In last week’s post (Transcription Tuesday – Practice!), we recommended several transcription websites to explore. We also suggested a few transcription projects to try your hand at transcribing actual historic documents. Did these help you? Did they identify areas where you need to practice more? The more you read old handwriting, the easier it will become. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Definitions

As we continue to explore how to develop our Transcription Skills, we need to take a few minutes this week to look at the main definitions to learn. Understanding each description, and the process associated with it, will help us to cultivate the core expertise for the transcription tasks required for every document we discover.

Transcription Definition:
A Transcription is a true word-for-word rendering of a document with the original punctuation and spelling (i.e., an exact copy of the original, line by line, sentence by sentence, word by word, and letter by letter). All notes and marks on any page are copied as faithfully as possible in the presented formatting. It includes all spellings, capitalizations and punctuations as it was written. No corrections are made to spelling or capitalization. It includes the whole record—front and back, with all its headings, insertions, endorsements, notations, etc.

Abstract Definition:
An Abstraction is an abbreviation of the original content in a document. It removes all the legal jargon or “boilerplate” language, but ensures that all relevant details within the document are kept. Mary Campbell Bell in Professional Genealogy sums it up this way: “Abstracts are summaries that record all important detail from a whole document.”

Extraction Definition:
An Extract is when you pull out only parts of the information in an original document. The extracting process is normally used for listings, such as censuses, inventories, tax or voters’ lists, etc., where there could be information about one person or family amongst many others.

These three topics are covered in-depth in our Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting course, including exercises and assignments designed to utilize the principles being taught in each module. Each has its place in our genealogical projects; Each is a research skill to perfect. So, continue to Practice! whenever you can.

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As researchers, we have found that there are many skills we need to employ in order to achieve success in our future research projects. Transcription Tuesday will share guidelines and practical suggestions to help our readers to develop the skills for making effective transcriptions, abstracts, and extractions.

Transcription Tuesday previous blog post
Transcription Tuesday Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These three core courses demonstrate Transcription principles. They are offered monthly, beginning on the first Monday of every month: Register today!
Methodology-Part 2: Organizing and Skill-Building (Basic Level)
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting (Basic Level)
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents (Advanced)—————————————————-
Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.

Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997

Focused for Success

August is upon us and our students at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies are preparing for the next round of courses beginning on August 2nd. You still have a few days to join them. Check out the complete list of our 230+ courses here. There is so much more to discover!

Registering for our online courses allows you to pursue your genealogical education in a format that is adaptable to your schedule and availability. Courses have a start date and a deadline for completion; however, you can set your own pace for coursework within that timeframe. Courses can be scheduled together or spaced apart. This allows you to complete courses individually or towards a certificate program based on the work load you can carry at that time. We have full-time students as well as students who are employed full-time and working on their courses at the same time. Most certificate programs require 40 courses to be completed – how long you take is up to you.

Focused for Success

Be aware that independent study takes discipline and focus! The definition of “Focused” (Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/focused. Accessed 01 Aug 2021) gives us some guidelines.

It requires us to have our mind fixed on our education goals and not scattered in many directions. When our efforts are concentrated on a specific research stream, we will gain a comprehensive and thorough overview of each topic through the course materials. In other words, we need to be actively engaged – the opposite of distracted and scattered. This may be a challenge in the current season, but pick a focus and then learn all you can about that topic. Organization is the key to developing our research strategies and education goals.

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Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.

Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997

How Are Your 2021 Goals?

Can you believe that we are passed the halfway mark for 2021? The Winter Season will be settling in for those who are in the Southern Hemisphere. Summer Vacations and Lazy Days are ahead for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere – Except for some of our students at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies! They will be opening their July online genealogy courses to maximize their time and seize the opportunity to advance their genealogy educational prospects.

How are You Doing with Your 2021 Goals?

Remember those genealogy goals you made back in January 2021? It’s time to stop and look back over the last six months and see what you have accomplished. Have you completed some of them? Are some goals still “a work in progress”? Or maybe you looked at the list and were surprized by some goals that you had forgotten about.

Goals are important to keep us on task. They define our plan of action and help us to use our time efficiently. They must also be practical. Goals that are too big and require a long-term commitment should be broken down into doable chunks. This will give us a sense of accomplishment as we can cross them off our checklist!

Evaluate Your Education Plan

We must also take time to evaluate, not only what has been completed, but what is still incomplete. Make a plan for the second half of 2021: monthly, quarterly (3 months) and to the end of the year (6 months). Many researchers will make a master plan for the full year with checkpoints to show their progress in meeting their project goals. This keeps us organized and accountable to our goals.

Be sure to include theme-based education as it relates to your research goals. This may be in various formats. Books, websites, webinars, and courses are only a few of the options available to us, many easily available with a simple Internet connection. You have so many opportunities just waiting for you at the click of your mouse button.

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers quality online education with over 230+ courses to choose from. Some of our courses are topic/country-specific, or provide insight into research methodology, while others are skill-building courses to maximize your research time. The beginning of a new month means another rotation of courses have started on July 5th. Most courses feature 6 modules over an 8-week period, easily adapted to most busy schedules. Many courses have been bundled into packages to provide discount options. Take a look at our course calendar and see which courses will accomplish your genealogical education goals. Register today!
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Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.