Howdy folks, I have had a request for clarification on the "raison d'etre" of the ERRATA. Way way back, i believe, i did some posts explaining the intent. It is ment to assist researchers in finding "associated" data. Frequently misinterpretations of original records will lead to information being overlooked, as search engines won't "hit" the <mis-spelled?> variation of the name one is looking for. Let me repost a message i sent last April in response to Susan Ferrill's lament about having missed data due to various errors:; Susan wrote: "One will have to be more than averagely creative to try to figure out how to find their ancestors at times, I am afraid. " ..... I promised in my note: "... have a truckload more... Stay tuned! " ... Well i have tried to keep my word! ;j. PSt More in a follow-up note... Bcc: Susan;Connie ~~~~~~~~~~~~ here's the re-post~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [GERmanRUSsian] ERRATA; was: Ellis Island Records Errors Susan, it's very good of U to spot these things. Forewarned is forearmed! There is a whole list of systemic errors that researchers should be familiar with. They often relate to the fact that the transcribers have great difficulty discerning letters or protocol in/from the German Script. In addition there was the problem that the clerk may have stabbed at what he/she heard. These situations exist - to my knowledge - in many places. Including our own very useful(!) and comprehensive(!) Odessa Digital Library *. Errors also exists in the Social Security Death Index , etc. etc. But by Georg, am i glad those databases exist!!! And part of the fun in the roots rooting is to find these glitches! At least for me it is! It is simply a mistake for a researcher to expect that THE name will be in the database , the way it "ought to be written". Now instead of getting upset about it , i think a list of "what to watch out for" or better yet also a "list of ERRATA" will be useful. I am working on just such a thing, and will attempt to get this started before too long. Anyone with ideas, WRITE ME! Here are - for starters - a few of the things i'm always looking for: < i'd like to mention that > a) UMLAUTS appear to have been ignored; or at least have not been transcribed as the trailing "e" that is customary. So GRUeBELE is on hand as GRUBELE. b) Double letters such as the "m" in HUMMEL may be written in script as an "m" with a bar; again this gets missed.. Sooo look for HUMEL as well... I have a truckload more... Stay tuned! Jay W. Meeuwig , also on: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/RUS/GermanRussian.html *Check SANDSIEDEL instead of LANDSIEDEL; Check LAUTER instead of SAUTER etc. .. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan Ferrill" <[email protected]>To: <GR-GENEALOGY> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 2:45 AM Hi everyone... I tend to be a lurker on the list, but I have to speak up now. I have found at least two serious errors that can really impede a researcher's progress. One is the result of the transcriber not being able to read old German script. It is very easy to mistake S's and L's, T's and F's, K's and R's, etc. In one instance (and the site I will mention for both problems is the same--the page for the ship Stuttgart from Bremen; January 25, 1893. I was looking up a name (Jan KRUPOT) which is close to my maiden name--KROPAT), a surname for 4 people was transcribed as LEIDEL, when, in reality, it should be SEIDEL. The German L and S in the case of the person who originally wrote the manuscript are very much alike. I am very used to this kind of script, so it wasn't difficult for me to discern the difference, however, anyone looking at the handwriting will be able to tell the difference. Below the LEIDEL/SEIDEL listing is a name that starts very definitely with an L and then below that is the surname SIMON. One can see the difference there in the penmanship and determine that the L should really be an S in LEIDEL. The other error on the same page is on the text version of the manuscript. The page starts with the late 200's (like 280 or 290) and goes down to about 320 or so. Jan KRUPOT was listed on the text version as being 310, so I went to view 310 on the original manifest and he wasn't there! Neither were the names surrounding his there! So I went back to the text and saw that the numbers 280 or so to about 320 or so were repeated twice on that same page with different names on the lines. I pulled up the enlarged version of the page and made sure that Jan KRUPOT was not on that page. I pulled up the next page and there was a totally different set of names on the page than was on the previous page I pulled up. So..it looks like the original manuscript for Jan KRUPOT is missing or mislabelled or something. I am afraid that if this screw up happened here that this isn't the only screw up involved! Anyone can check up and confirm what I am saying. One will have to be more than averagely creative to try to figure out how to find their ancestors at times, I am afraid. :( I was really saddened to see these problems. Susan Kropat Ferrill This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.printcharger.com/emailStripper.htm ==== GermanRussian Mailing List ==== For questions or with comments about this list, contact the list administrator at mailto:[email protected]