Spelling in indexes

[pwholt]

I don't know if this is the best place, but thought some observations made today while transcribing births from the local registrar's books might be useful for others who might have problems finding people.
1. The registrar had some idiosyncratic spellings. Like Aurthur and Jimima. That is how he wrote the names, and the parent who registered just made their mark so wasn't in a position to correct him. If you are searching by computer, these spellings might not get picked up, so try all sorts of misspellings of names you can't find. Another registrar habitually spelled Elenar where I might use Eleanor.
2. For unfamiliar surnames, the registrars often spelled phonetically, so consider the local accent when trying for alternate spellings. For MORTIMER, I found MARTIMARE, and for MILES he used MIELS which is also another name altogether.
3. Sometimes the indexer couldn't read the registrar's handwriting which could be very dodgy. Think about which letters might be poorly formed and thus misread. Hopefully the difference between an A or an O won't prove too big a hurdle.
4. Sometimes the registrar got it wrong. I checked a mother's maidne name against others who might be siblings. For one, the other details matched sufficiently for me to think they were siblings, but the mother's maiden name was not the same - one was HAMBLEN, the other was HMBLETON ( yes,it was missing a vowel which is why I was checking.) Just a situation where having birth certificates for two siblings might help make progress if the first maiden surname heads for a brick wall.
I hope these thoughts might be of help. pw

[v.wells]

A really good bit of advice pw It's often hard to remember to think outside the box when running full tilt into a brick wall. Sometimes I will write out the name with different spellings to see how many variations I can get.

[susan-y]

Good advice, pw.

I shall even try the Elenar while searching for a gggrandmother who I have only seen listed as Eleanor on my grgrandfather's marriage cert. I thought I had tried all versions, but I haven't tried that one

Sue

[spison]

So true pw,
Sometimes I have a chuckle at the strange ways of spelling names that for us are obvious. You must be creative with your searches because just unchecking the 'exact spelling' box sometimes just won't get you what you're after.
Jane

[Thomasin]

I shall even try the Elenar while searching for a gggrandmother who I have only seen listed as Eleanor on my grgrandfather's marriage cert. I thought I had tried all versions, but I haven't tried that one

I have another version - Elennah - in Devon in 1759.

[susan-y]

I have another version - Elennah - in Devon in 1759.

Haven't tried that one either! Do you think the Irish used that spelling as well?

Sue

[N@alie]

A really good bit of advice pw It's often hard to remember to think outside the box when running full tilt into a brick wall. Sometimes I will write out the name with different spellings to see how many variations I can get.

I do this and also try saying the name and then trying phonetic spellings and have found, eg, Levens as Livins and Lebens and Catherine as Cathern and Catharen...

BTW, have you tried Elena (my grandmother's name)?

[birdlip]

I do this and also try saying the name

Out loud? So do I! It works too, but the dog generally gives me a strange look...

[pwholt]

I later remembered some of the surname variants used:
Robbence for Robbins and Gibbence for Gibbons. I say variants because the next registrar used the other form, so I think it was the same families. pw

[Procat]

Hi PW,

This is a useful bit of information for those just starting out. I will turn it into a sticky and lock it so it does not turn into a research thread. If you want to add anything at any time just ask a Moderator to unlock it for you.