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Archiver > TMG > 2007-12 > 1199063112


From: "Darrell A. Martin" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Misspellings (was: A Brick Wall Has Fallen)
Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:05:12 -0600
References: <477819E7.8010104@maine.rr.com> <47781D1C.5060005@well.com>
In-Reply-To: <47781D1C.5060005@well.com>


kathryn gratop wrote:
> I would extract exactly as it was written, errors and all, into the
> spreadsheet and create a name variation for those individuals in TMG.
> That is what I have been doing with my ancestors that had various name
> misspellings through the years. You may also want to save a copy of the
> census image to your hard drive.
>
> Kathryn

Hi, Kathryn:

I agree on one point but disagree on another, possibly. I'm not saying
my way is right, either, just giving an opinion.

I enter into TMG, for the *source*, exactly and only what I read myself
from the original document (or as close to it as I can get, such as a
microfilm copy). If the entry is incorrectly indexed, and my access to
the original is through that index (such as an online database), I will
include the indexing information. However, I do so in such a way as to
focus on the incorrect information being part of the way to *find* the
document, *NOT* treating the erroneous index as part of the document's
content -- even indirectly.

I do not enter name variations in TMG for one-time misspellings.
Fundamentally, I think to do so treats random mistakes in record keeping
as though they had some basis in reality. This tends to perpetuate
errors rather than correct them. I *might* make an exception if a
misspelling was common enough that it appears in secondary works, for
example, and failure to include it might confuse future researchers; but
only under duress. Even then, I would probably create a whole new
person, link to the "real entry" with a history Tag, with the text "in
some cases the name has been misspelled M A R T N I" -- or something
like that. So far I have held the line and restricted the misspelling to
the source document, as noted in my first paragraph.

Note that if a person actually *used* the variation in spelling, that is
an entirely different matter. That would deserve a Name-Var Tag and all
that goes with it.

I am somewhat more sensitive to this issue than others might be, as I
have had my own given name misspelled 23 different ways, at last count....

Darrell

not
Darrel
Darel
Darell
Deryl
Derryl
etc. etc. etc.

--
Darrell A. Martin
a native Vermonter currently in exile in Illinois


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