IGI Symbols

[Darcy]

 

Greetings Everyone,
 
Anyone have a theory on this.......

Is it of any significance when the symbols <  > appear as
brackets on some of the surnames on the IGI?

Aaron

[trystan]

Aaron,

Looks like that's got everybody stumped!  

Trystan

[Boongie Pam]

Nope...no idea, I noticed it in Ulverston OPR entries and I couldn't work it out...

[Jacquie]

Hi,

This is my theory on the subject as I have also come across this on the IGI and also on the 1881 census.

When the brackets are either side of a date it means they are not sure of the birth year.

As for names I found one of my ancestors who was listed 4 times both under male and female both had the same name and both had the same birth date.  Both the male and female had the <> around so I think they didn't know if the person was a male or female.  

Also found one either side of a place name, could not find the name of the town so I asked a relative in England and they gave me the correct spelling, so I think that is why the <> were there.

Of course I could be completely wrong.

Jacquie.

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi all

On consulting my Oracle:

Occasionally, there is an &#8721; or an &#9650; which means that an obvious error in the original has been corrected.
Alternatively, where there is a Christain name which provokes instant question, this may be repeated, where an English transcript might put (sic).
<date> or <place> means that a guess has been made. Entries with this, or 'Relative' should be treated with great caution.

Making the most of the IGI by Eve McLaighlin 1995.

Chris in 1066Land

Sorry the symbols did not come out:
&#8721 is a W turned 90 degrees on its side.
&#9650 is a small solid pyramid.
 

[Darcy]

Thanks Folks!

I have a couple of ancestors whose names are bracketed thus while others are not and I wondered about it. Now thanks to you I need wonder no more! Thanks too Chris, for the tip on being cautious about these entries.
 
Regards Aaron