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The very earliest records are the most difficult.
Despite the above examples, records after about
1780, and even more so after about 1812, are normally no more difficult to
read than some handwriting today.
Please remember that it is
advisable not to rely on a transcription for information - it is recommended
that the source document should be checked. This is particularly the case if
an event is unexpectedly not found - reference to the original document may
reveal that it was recorded after all.
As anyone who has ever done any
transcribing from hand-written records can confirm, errors can be introduced
by the state of the document, the legibility of the ink image, the style of
handwriting, and simple omission.
When using fiche, there is a possibility of
further errors caused by a less than perfect photographic image.
Another reason for checking the source is
that there may be additional information which could not be transcribed in
the space available.
Be prepared for idiosyncratic spelling of
names and places. More often than not our ancestors could not read or write.
They probably told someone else what was needed to be written, and that
person wrote down what he heard. As an example, the
Pitminster SOM
baptisms contain three different spellings of my own surname: PARKHOUSE,
PARKHOAST, and PARKHURST, which obviously are the same family when
reconstructed using baptisms, marriages and burials. If your name is Smythe,
you should consider the possibility that it may once have been entered in a parish register as Smith.
Place-names can be anything from a single
homestead to a large city and may not be fully spelled out. Bear in mind the
context, e.g. in
Pitminster SOM, reference to an Ordnance Survey map would suggest that
the place-names Shoreditch and Feltham are more likely to refer to local
places than like-named places in London, and Blagdon is more likely to be
the Blagdon Hill in the parish than the Blagdon 30 miles away.
Still on the subject of place-names, David
Hey in his excellent book "Family History & Local History in England" (on
page 223 in my 1994 impression) explains how he located a place called
Nacker's Hole in Otterford SOM. With the aid of a 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey
map, he found a place called Knacker's Hole Lane, a lonely spot on the
Devon/Somerset border where once horses had been slaughtered. The house of
his ancestor was still there.
When transcribing from old handwriting, it
is sometimes possible to read an entry in different ways. If after
reconstructing a family from my transcriptions, you feel that I may have
transcribed something incorrectly, let me know. If I am not too busy, I will
re-examine the fiche (if I still have it) and see if your alternative
interpretation is possible. Otherwise, I would point out that you can always
purchase the fiche yourself from the Somerset Record Office.
I'm NOT responsible for any damage that
information derived from this site may cause to your family tree!
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