Incorrect Census transcriptions on Ancestry

[kerryb]

Oh yes I see when I cross my eyes!!!!   The OCR must have been so exhausted it missed the Green altogether!!!

Kerry

[MarthaJane]

Apart from the issue of the poor handwriting there is lack of geographical knowldedge, today I have found Calne (Wilts) as Calire, and lack of knowledge of British surnames.  For example I found Swain as Suan, O'Connell as simply Connell (I expect they thought the 'O' was a middle name) and Penks transcribed as Denter.  Admittedly Penks is quite an unusual surname but no way was the 'P' a 'D' and it was clearly a 'KS' not a 'TER'  They don't seem to have compared letters on the page when in doubt.  So any Penks searching will have no chance of finding their family in the 1851 Census will they?

Some of it is just downright sloppy.  Savannah for Susannah and Jene for John.

I suspect mistranscribing is why there is no trace of the family I am looking for and I am getting rather disillusioned with Ancestry as each search reveals more errors.

[Brambletye]

I am certainly no apologist for Ancestry - yes is is sloppy, and we pay for that - but there are some amazing howlers on the free LDS 1881 Census, too - which, of course, are perpetrated on Ancestry as they have not, so far as I am aware, done their own index.

On the '81 there is a Samuel P Mard and his wife Selina - I was at a total loss to find them in the '91 and '01 until I saw the image of the '81 on Ancestry and realised that "P Mard" was a mistranscription of "Pittard".

Also, one poor chap on the '81 was described as an Expiree - I wonder if that means he was dead at the time of the Census...? 

[kerryb]

Perhaps in a box on the table in the parlour!!!!!

Kerry

[Marmaduke 123]

I like the expiree! I do always take the time to correct mistranscriptions on Ancestry and on the Genealogist. It's annoying sometimes, especially when you have to go through a whole family group making the same correction! There must be a better way.

I'm not trying to help Ancestry, I'm trying to help other people who come after me, and save them from spending the time I have spent tracking down an ancestor in spite of the mistranscription.

I am quite sympathetic to the difficulties of transcribing, and I think we sometimes forget the advantage we have, knowing what names we are looking for, which are possible English names, and having at least some local knowlege.

My own favourites are Richard Scales Summy for Richard Summerscales, and Himmeidg for Slimbridge, although to be fair Himmeidg was what the emunerator had written.

I think I would still be puzzling over both these if it wasn't for Rootschat!

Anne

[ludovica]

My ancestors were  down as Phoud instead of Stroud on Ancestry's 1901. I did submit a correction, but the last time I looked at it, (almost a year later I reckon) nothing had been changed

[BettyofKent]

I've corrected a lot of mistranscriptions, & I've noticed they show up quite quickly.

Wouldn't it be nice if Ancestry gave a discount for each transcription error discovered, after all, we are unpaid proof-readers!!

Dream on

Betty

[MarthaJane]

After months of searching I am now used to Victorian formation of letters, I wonder how much training the Transcribers were given?  I would rather have waited longer and had it transcribed in this country than to continually hit brick walls because of mistranscriptions   

For example, I have just found Irnside (which is a common misspelling of Ironside)  It is transcribed as Kornder.  Sometimes it just appears to be guesswork, weren't the transcriptions ever checked?

[RedFox]

I've corrected a lot of mistranscriptions, & I've noticed they show up quite quickly.

Wouldn't it be nice if Ancestry gave a discount for each transcription error discovered, after all, we are unpaid proof-readers!!

Dream on

Betty

Good Suggestion, Betty.   I paid for a subscribscription for three years, but now use the library edition.  I'm not sure which is worse - A.com or FamilySearch.  I can't think how many times I've traced a family back on LDS only to find a number of incongruities giving the same name for the spouse and mother!!!  RootsChat.com has always come through for me.   RedFox