Genealogy Chat

It has to be said that having a rare name to research does make it much easier to trace EXCEPT that being a rare name, it is not easily recognised by the transcribers! My name FRASI hides away, particularly in the census and the LDS site under many guises! the F can also be a T; the A can also be an O or a U; the I frequently becomes an E or a T! I have found many 'lost' relatives by searching FRAST; FRASE; FROSE; FROSI;TRASE; TRASI; TRAST. I've just found my grandfather hiding behind the name of Henry Alfred Gardalder Truse!! It should have been Henry Alfred Garibaldi Frasi!! Anyone else got any more good examples of mis-transcribed names? Janet

Hi My Reese are listed as Keeves on 1901 and Hartus Wilkinson is Hartees I also found that the way job descriptions are recorded is a joke. Its almost like a computer transcribed it, leaving any common sense behind The example I have given before is that my gg grandad was a mat maker and on 1901 he is listed as a coin....weaver. Closer inspection of the original clearly shows coir mat weaver. You really do have to think outside the box when you are searching! It helps that you know they should be there as you can then add in other variables, but its maddening when you are spending real money on 1901 and watching it spin off into cyber space

My Sears were down as Lears on the 1881 transcription. The daughter was down as Blanche instead of Virginia Blanche. Took me a year and a lot of swearing to find them even though I have got the discs. Maz. XX

My Clilverds are hidden as Chilverds, Chilvers,Oliverds, Clilvero,Clilward and Cliltunce occaisionally the name is transcribed differently in the same household with the parents being spelled differently to the children.I still havent found some that I know existed!

Your names may have been mis-transcribed, but my Grandad isn't even listed on the 1901 cencus! Can't understand why, as he was 9yrs old at the time, and 1 of his brothers is down as being his age!!. So, I think the only way I will be able to find him is if I go and look at Parish Records for Gateshead!!(Still, it's a good excuse for a day out!).

Alison, I have the same problem as you - I have Comans that I've found as Coman/Comen/Corran/Corman and Douges that I've found as Douge/Doudge/Doge/Dorge/Donge/Dodge and in one family it is spelt 3 separate ways!!

Hi all Glad I'm not the only one then! I suppose it keeps us on our toes, and keeps the grey matter working! Janet

janet i agree.my grandmothers maiden name was HATHAWAY but on the 1901 census her family was listed as HATHAUSY, confused sue

confused Sue I suppose we tend to blame the transcribers, but I suppose the real problem comes down to the handwriting of the people who wrote it down in the first place! Janet

my great great uncle Eugene (a pork butcher) is described as a park butcher ... no wonder he ended up in the asylum! A

I had a Matilda who was down as a 'Lilda'. Obviously the family gave her name as Tilda, and it was then mistranscribed, but I was always told she shortened it to 'Tillie'. Nice lot of confusion all round, I thought I had randomly gained a relative! What I don't understand is how her age could have been so wrong - she was listed as a 31 year old scholar. Please, this was 1901, was this really likely? She was actually eleven.

I had a Matilda who was down as a 'Lilda'. Obviously the family gave her name as Tilda, and it was then mistranscribed, but I was always told she shortened it to 'Tillie'. Nice lot of confusion all round, I thought I had randomly gained a relative! What I don't understand is how her age could have been so wrong - she was listed as a 31 year old scholar. Please, this was 1901, was this really likely? She was actually eleven.

I've found Sunley down as Finley, Simley, Sonley, Sunlay. Oldfield down as Ocafield. George

Ann LOVED your 'park butcher' - the mind boggles! I did laugh ....! I had visions of this little man peeping out from behind trees with a great big meat cleaver in his hand! Kathryn I bet they said to the enumerator '...... then there's Matilda....' and he thought they said 'my Tilda'! George I'm surprised the capital 'S' didn't get transcribed as an 'L', because they look so similar in the old style writing. Everyone - try writing down your missing family members in a scribbly, flourishing, old-fashioned way and see what you come up with. That's how I discovered my grandfather's name 'Frasi' had been mis-transcribed as 'Truse'. I hadn't bargained for the 'Garibaldi' being transcribed as 'Gardalder' though ...........!! Janet

One of my rellies was down as a boot maker and then as a cake baker. I hope he washed his hands first. May