Genealogy Chat

hello O.C this info was on ancestry under all records for my Nichols - usually there is one name but on this occasion there are all these (see prev msge) Dont know my Latin from my whatever...but didnt expect all these names. Sorry for the late reply..tonight I have been looking thru orphanges, again with no luck.. Sylvie

I agree that so many of these mistranscriptions are amazing, but the ones that make me REALLY cross are on the 1881 census: There are around 260,000 people recorded as living in Islington. However, over 6,200 of these (according to Ancestry, who I assume got the details from the LDS) are living in a fictitious place called ISLINSTON. Then there is Hammersmith. According to Ancestry/LDS there is no such place, should you be living there in 1881.....they have transcribed it at HARMMERSMITH. That's 72,000+ records! I'm sure there must be others - these I came across by chance! Merry

Sylvie, it's a list of baptisms on 3 Mar 1649/50 at Sheffield Parish Church, lifted from an old printed book, in which they're transcribed exactly as written out in Latin in the register http://images.ancestry%2Eco.uk/iexec?htx=view&cat=YORKSHIRE&path=95.2&id=0107&r=5538&rc=193,290,309,321;523,287,641,321&fn=samuel&ln=nichols&pid=9740 Samuel son of Robert Nichols Joseph son of Edward Unwin Sarah daughter of Lawrence Pearson Mary daughter of John Oxspring Martha daughter of John Newbould Sarah daughter of Humphrey Wilkinson Martha daughter of Robert Pointon Sarah daughter of Simon Stones Mary daughter of Robert Boughton Mary daughter of Gilbert Turner Sarah daughter of Stephen Fox

Just found Geo. Hopkins on the 1861 census. He was born in St. Pancras, Mexico!

I found my rellies described as living in Rochdale, Lanarkshire. I passed them by several times until the penny dropped - the image said 'Lanacshire' meaning Lancashire but some clever pooter programme had translated this as Lanarkshire. Can't remember where I found another one, but they were all born in Salford, MARS! Olde Crone

Just a tip for anyone searching in NE England. I've lost count of the number of times ancestors born in Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland have been indexed as born in Berwickshire, Scotland.

It is not unusual for Ancestry.com to have transcribed Brother as Mother, even when the sex is listed as male!

I've just found a male (son) named Alice instead of Abel.

Hi Vicky, Here's one for you! In a desperate moment, was searching by initials only, hoping to find an elusive person, in a hospital etc, listed just by initials. Was drawn to a couple of entries where, in place of birth, it said 'No at cutained' !!!! I just had to have a look at the entry to see exactly what it did say. In the place of birth box it says 'Not ascertained' OMG!! Debbie

Apparantly Shrewsbury is now in Ireland!!

Nichola I have a Smoothy family that were mistranscribed as Timothy! If only the enumerators didn't use such florid letters and wrote in block caps, it would save a lot of stress! nell