Here’s the next in my occasional series of bite-size Quick Tips. Click on the Quick Tips tag for my other Quick Tips. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) post every couple of weeks on a small topic that pops into my head. I have to remind myself of this one with more frequency than I’d like to admit.
Take another look at handwritten documents
We’ve all encountered names that have been poorly indexed. That’s because handwriting can be hard to transcribe. I find that I sometimes misinterpret handwritten words or numbers and enter them incorrectly into my Reunion software. That can lead to wrong assumptions and wild goose chases.
If you find you have conflicting evidence, take another look at the original document to make sure you recorded the evidence accurately. (It happened to me just yesterday, where I discovered that I’d written down that a woman had three living children, when in fact the number written on the census was five.) You may find a transcription error on your part that clears things up.
Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash
This is such a good tip Janine, thank you for mentioning it. It can be a struggle to interpret some handwriting! I will add this to my “checklist” that I run through when I hit snags…or bricks!
I’m so glad you found it helpful, Deb!