Very often when when people mention that there is a mistake in one of the
transcribed census or parish records, it turns out that it is not a mistake at
all but is exactly as it is in the original record.

A transcript is a reproduction of material originally presented in another
medium. For instance if the original record clearly shows a surname as WALKINS
and we know it really should be WATKINS, it is tempting to change what is
written, but if we do that we are not doing a true transcript of the record.

Another point to remember is that many of our ancestors were unable to read or
write and so they would give their name verbally to the clergy or enumerator and
their name would be written down with the spelling of what they believed to be
correct, another person could spell their name in a different way. An example
of this is with some of my own ancestors whose surname was WOAR but it has also
been written with variations of WOOR, WOORE and HOARE on the original records.

So next time time you look at a census or parish record and start to blame the
transcriber because a surname is not spelled how you think it should be, give
some though to other reasons why it is spelled the way it is.

As with any transcript, please use the data as a finding aid only, and NOT as a
definitive source. Therefore, if you find some information of interest, it is
strongly recommend you check the original source for yourself to verify that the
information is correct.