Penmanship and transcription

One of the issues you face when doing genealogical research is the combination of illiteracy, strong accents, poor penmanship, and interpretation. Perhaps the Gorse Fox should explain.

If Mary Ann Bowler was illiterate, then when she appear in formal registers her name is written by the registrar. It is written as he interprets and spells it. In this case he might have written Bowler, Bouler, Boler Boaler and so forth. Whatever he writes, it is the same person and what is written on her baptismal certificate may be different from what was on he marriage certificate and different again from what might be written in the census returns.

Now as time goes by these registers are consolidated and stored. Eventually, they get indexed and, with luck, transcribed. Here we introduce the next level of complexity. The person doing the indexing or transcription reads the certificate and makes his best guess at what the handwriting says. Bowler may, by now, become Bouder, Boullier,  Bolder or something equally obscure.

Finally, the Gorse Fox comes along and tries to find out about Mary Ann Bowler. The indexes can't be trusted so you have to try each variation of the name. Then you have look at all of the accompanying information to ensure that the Mary Ann you are seeking is indeed the Mary Ann you are looking at. Eventually you find a trail through the information and, hopefully, a few trusted citations that you can include in your research.

This explains the afternoon that the Gorse Fox has enjoyed. (In a parallel three, Cambridge University are considering allowing students to type their exams as the standard of penmanship in the latest generation is so poor that the examiners can't decode the results).

This morning was different - a Sunday football game for the first time in a month. It was very tight finishing up 5-4 to the other team. The Gorse Fox was pleased with the way he played and did manage to score our 4th goal.