Soundex code breaker.

[benny1982]

Hi

Not been on here for a while. Quite busy. I recently found a Philadelphia Passenger Card Index list for 1883-1948 and as my ancestor Thomas Musgrave went there in September 1886 this will hold more info on his emigration.

However it is indexed by a Soundex Index database by first letter of surname but not alphabetically such as Ma, Mc, Me, etc etc. I cannot fathom how to decode the surname Musgrave:- Each Soundex code consists of a letter and three numbers, such as D432.

This is what the Soundex codebreaker says on the FamilySearch,org site:-

After the first letter, disregard vowels (a, e, i, o, u, and y) and ignore the consonants h, and w.
Numbers are assigned to the remaining letters of the name according to the table of Soundex Key Letter Codes shown below.
Zeroes are added at the end if necessary to produce a four-character code. Excess letters are disregarded if they would produce a code longer than four-characters. For example Lee = L000, and Christopherson = C623.

Soundex Key Letter Codes Number
Represents the Letters
1
b, f, p, v
2
c, g, j, k, q, s, x, z
3
d, t
4
l
5
m, n
6
r

I wonder if someone may be able to help me in tracking what soundex code Musgrave?Musgrove comes under? Then I can look through and hopefully find my ancestors index card.

Thanks

Ben

[Jellylegs]

Would it be M226?

[notanotherminer]

I would read it as 5226

5=m
2=s
2=g
6=r
All the other letters are then ignored to give you the 4 digit code

[notanotherminer]

Would it be M226?

Reading the instructions again I think Jellylegs' version is more likely. I think you are supposed to include the first letter

[Jellylegs]

I had to read the instructions a couple of times Graham and it wasn't until I realised that my code didn't start with a letter as the examples did, that I changed the 5 to an M

[Coromandel]

I cheated and tried the 'Soundex Conversion Program' here:

http://
searches.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/Genea/soundex.sh

I was puzzled to find that it gave a different code for Musgrave than the one worked out by Jellylegs using the FamilySearch instructions: the converter gives the answer M261. Apparently this is because the Rootsweb converter uses some 'nuances of the coding scheme (such as coding adjacent like letters as one)'. Apparently because S and G are in the same group, you don't repeat the 2, and then you have room to include the code for V, i.e. 1.

[benny1982]

Hi.

Thanks. I shall try M261. It takes a bit of understanding how these records work. I shall try that and post back on any more developments.

Ben

[benny1982]

Hi

I found Thomas Musgrave's index card for Sep 7 1886. It said he was accompanied by 3. I know he was accompanied by his daughter Margaret aged 14. In the actual lists there was a Peter and Annie Musgrave who were born in Ireland travelling the same time as Tom and Mgt born England. They were unrelated but how come they travelled with each other just because of the same surname?

Ben