Your Favourite Census Mistranscriptions!

[Peter Spencer]

On Saturday 15 June I attended the Southern Family History Day in Wilton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire where there was talk on census errors. Apparently transcribing census records was outsourced to countries whose first language was not English; India for example. To make matters worse each transcriber could only see one line of the original document and was therefore unable to compare individual letters in a difficult to read word with perhaps a similar letter in a word on another line the meaning of which was plain to see.

[jaybelnz]

I know this is an old post but just had to add my one! 

My great great grandparents and their family!  Our family name is Mathews. I searched for this for years, but finally someone on the Sheffield Indexers forum found it for me last year!

Really just as well that I already knew all the Christian names, and the names and birth places are also correct. Apparently it was was indexed as MASTERS😄

1861 Census

Piece 3496 Fol 49 Page 17 Brightside Bierlow Yorkshire

Rock St

John G Markus 43 manger of Manchester Sheffield Rly.born Ireland
Mary J Martews 43 born Ireland
Henry M D" 16 born Hounslow Middlesex
Mary G" 12 born Hounslow
John R A" 10 born Manchester Lancashire
Robert W" 5 born London
+ 2 visitors and 1 servant,John G's occupation is my "interpretation" of the census info!

(Not my "interpretation" mentioned above - that's what the volunteer added)
John's Occupation was Manager not Manger! 😀😄

[pinefamily]

Not quite census mistranscriptions, but there are some beauties in the England and Wales Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers 1567-1970 dataset on Ancestry. There are a lot of French and Walloon names, so I can allow a bit of leniency for unfamiliarity, but when the letters are clearly the same as the word next to the name..... 

[ScouseBoy]

On Saturday 15 June I attended the Southern Family History Day in Wilton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire where there was talk on census errors. Apparently transcribing census records was outsourced to countries whose first language was not English; India for example. To make matters worse each transcriber could only see one line of the original document and was therefore unable to compare individual letters in a difficult to read word with perhaps a similar letter in a word on another line the meaning of which was plain to see.

      I think you are wrong about India.           A large proportion of India      does speak  English.

But which year Census are you referring to, please.

[pinefamily]

I get these two mixed up, but 1901 and 1911 are the two that I know were "outsourced". One was done by the "residents" of HM Prisons, and the other was done in India.

[pharmaT]

Transcribers only being able to see one lime at a time helps explain my transcription error. Whole family transcribed as Dickson except my grt Grandfather who wad transcribed as Dockerson.  I was confused because when you looked at at the image his Dickson looked the same as the other Dickson. I couldn't understand why they transcribed one as Dickson but not the other when they looked the same.

[Redroger]

From memory (dangerous) it was the 1901 that was done by prisoners, the 1911 outsourced to India. Problems with both, the prisoners weren't too co-operative and many of the India transcribers had English as second language.

[coombs]

I keep mistaking this thread for "Your favourite census", even though I have posted in this thread before.

I come across a swear word within a grossly mistranscribed birthplace word. Sh*tedpelob.

[westdale]

I have great sympathy for transcribers but I suffer a lot from their art.
1)  My main wish for the last 20 years has been to find Hannah Delanoy.
     Salt Lake City and all the other transcribers are insistent that most Delanoys are Delaneys.
     Including the most recent Gt Budworth parish register project :-(
2) I am half Welsh and if you haven't been to those censuses you have a treat waiting!
    Llancystenyn, Llancystenin, Llancystennin and Llangwstenin -- those are not transcription errors but what is actually written :-) The last is the modern name.