I don't know the actual rules regarding this, but I would think that one should always transcribe anything EXACTLY as it is written. Even if it is deemed wrong by our current standards, I think it should be transcribed as is. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 2:59 PM Subject: [S-I] Transcribing Tombstones Could I get some opinions / guidance on transcribing tombstones as far as: · Do you transcribe it exactly in terms of capitalization (i.e. Many/most names are entirely in capitals, DIED is often all caps, etc) · Do you transcribe exactly with regard to dates (i.e. many of my headstones have one date over another (or side-by-side with another) without a dash) · If you have a multiple person headstone that lists the Surname then lists the individuals by first name and initial, (e.g. I have a person Samuel T. Carroll. The family group stone - 4 members listed - is CARROLL. Would you transcribe it as CARROLL Samuel T. or Samuel T. Carroll or Samuel T. CARROLL or something else) · Finally, for now, do you put punctuation marks where there should be but often aren't (e.g. a name listed on one line Joseph P Ward - there is no period after the P but...) This technical stuff drives me absolutely crazy. Thanks in advance, Lou Lou Emeterio (724) 663-5149 H (614) 206-4945 C [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Gotta second Janice here . Transcribing means to transcribe it exactly as it is. No interpretation. See http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/a/abstracting.htm It says: "In the field of genealogy, a transcription is an exact copy of a source document. The key word here is exact . Everything should be rendered exactly as found in the original source - spelling, punctuation, abbreviations and the arrangement of text. If a word is misspelled in the original, then it should be misspelled in your transcription. If the deed you're transcribing has every other word capitalized, then your transcription should as well. If you aren't sure of a word or phrase then flag it with a question mark in square brackets. If part of a word is unclear, then underline the letters which are unclear. If an entire phrase, sentence or paragraph is unreadable, then indicate the length of the passage. " Information relevant to cemeteries here: http://genealogy.about.com/od/cemeteries_online/a/transcribing.htm What drives you crazy is the index then <grin>! Linda Merle ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janice Shives" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 5:56:41 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [S-I] Transcribing Tombstones I don't know the actual rules regarding this, but I would think that one should always transcribe anything EXACTLY as it is written. Even if it is deemed wrong by our current standards, I think it should be transcribed as is. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 2:59 PM Subject: [S-I] Transcribing Tombstones Could I get some opinions / guidance on transcribing tombstones as far as: · Do you transcribe it exactly in terms of capitalization (i.e. Many/most names are entirely in capitals, DIED is often all caps, etc) · Do you transcribe exactly with regard to dates (i.e. many of my headstones have one date over another (or side-by-side with another) without a dash) · If you have a multiple person headstone that lists the Surname then lists the individuals by first name and initial, (e.g. I have a person Samuel T. Carroll. The family group stone - 4 members listed - is CARROLL. Would you transcribe it as CARROLL Samuel T. or Samuel T. Carroll or Samuel T. CARROLL or something else) · Finally, for now, do you put punctuation marks where there should be but often aren't (e.g. a name listed on one line Joseph P Ward - there is no period after the P but...) This technical stuff drives me absolutely crazy. Thanks in advance, Lou Lou Emeterio (724) 663-5149 H (614) 206-4945 C [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message