1921 transcription error

[Jackiemh]

I have just started printing off some of the 1921 census and noticed the following error.
Alice Higginson aged 50, resident of Hackney: her occupation is a sturt irnor and her employer is Mirtish Thirt maker.
To be honest, the writing on the original is rather small and smudged.
  Jackie

[Jebber]

Shirt ironed and shirt maker.

You can send in a correction.

[Ray T]

I had two yesterday. Both named, registered and obviously “Willie” but transcribed, by an over zealous FindMyPast transcriber, as “William”. At least they were being consistently wrong!

[familydar]

fish repairer - the mind boggles!

Was actually a perfectly clear fish porter.  Daughter was a film repairer.

[BumbleB]

Yes, as you say, familydar, horrendous transcriptions at times.  BUT have you tried transcribing - and especially under the pressure of "numbers, numbers, numbers"?  We have to remember that many of the transcribers are neither family historians nor possibly English-speaking.

I do transcriptions, but for FreeBMD, where there are absolutely no pressures - BUT I often look at other versions of the images to verify what I see so that I can be a little more sure that I have made the correct transcription.  Even so I do receive requests for corrections, which I am happy to fulfill.

Nobody is perfect 

AND I assume that you have submitted a correction to FindMyPast - they do take these things seriously. 

 

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I have just looked again at my grandfather's entry, as I want to try and report an odd error. I obviously hadn't looked at the transcription very closely before, as "carpenter" has been transcribed as "confectioner". (It is very clear on the original.) Not much call for confectioners in a tiny village in 1921.

[Ray T]

Yes, as you say, familydar, horrendous transcriptions at times.  BUT have you tried transcribing - and especially under the pressure of "numbers, numbers, numbers"?  We have to remember that many of the transcribers are neither family historians nor possibly English-speaking.

I do transcriptions, but for FreeBMD, where there are absolutely no pressures - BUT I often look at other versions of the images to verify what I see so that I can be a little more sure that I have made the correct transcription.  Even so I do receive requests for corrections, which I am happy to fulfill.

Nobody is perfect 

AND I assume that you have submitted a correction to FindMyPast - they do take these things seriously. 

Errors by volunteers are excusable but sites such as FindMyPast are, presumably, paying people to transcribe and selling the results. Consequently, I have little sympathy for the transcribers and none for FindMyPast.

[tillypeg]

AND I assume that you have submitted a correction to FindMyPast - they do take these things seriously. 

I have been submitting corrections to FindMyPast for the past week or so now for the 1921 Census and they are incredibly quick to amend the entries, assuming that they agree with my suggestions.  The ones I submitted last night have been done.  They seem to be working all hours as the emails were sent at 23:15, 01:26 and 04:10.

[andrewalston]

I always try to explain WHY they ought to agree with my transcription. Things like "compare the capital A with the occupation of the person two lines above" are pretty much guaranteed to get your correction accepted.