Before we get into the serious research, I need to discuss with you a very important point about variations in spellings in genealogy. We most were mostly looking for a particular surname, but don't expect that surname to be spelled the same every time. In fact, it is very likely that your surname has changed over time. And so it is very important that you are aware of some of the reasons why a surname might be spelled differently to what you'd expect as you carry out your research. Coming up are a few of the reasons why names can be spelled differently, along with some examples from my own research. Firstly, it's important to know that up until relatively recently, there were no standardized spellings at all, but particularly the surnames So you can find a surname spell definitely from one generation to the next.

In this example, you can see that my grandmother's surname Reed was spelled Ari ID when she was married, whereas her father's name was spelled Ari a D, on his marriage certificate. Secondly, until the mid to late 19th century, most people were illiterate, and often could not write their own name. So the names in most documents were written by officials who would write the name down as they heard it. In this example, you can see that on my grandfather's birth certificate, his father's name is written as MacAllan whereas later on the census my grandfather's name is McEwen. Much of this might depend on the accent person had, where vowel sounds might sound Different from person to person and area to area. When you are searching, it is often useful to think about the regional accents, and what the name might sound like said out loud.

Thirdly, we must always allow for human error. documents are written by people and people make mistakes. Sometimes an official might hear a name incorrectly, or put in the wrong name, perhaps mixing the person up with someone else. Leave after letter, or even transpose A for name and a surname. I've seen all of these. In this example you can see my grandfather's entry on the 1871 census six lines down.

See how the enumerator has left out the end in his name, so that it reads phrases instead of Francis this morning. Error had me searching for this entry for a long time before I found it Asli by no means least, when we are searching indexes, we have to remember that each index entry has been copied from a handwritten entry. And so the transcriber can very easily miss read an A for an O or an L for T, for example, or even write something that is completely different from the original name at all. In this example, you can see that my great great grandfather's census entry in the index has been written as backed in error on the index transcript, whereas you can see in the original record below it is in fact, bought. I bet you didn't think you'd be getting a spelling lesson. On this course, don't worry too much about this at the moment.

As we go along, I'll be giving you some tips on how to search for names that might not be showing up in the index is due to transcription errors or otherwise, as you carry on your search, you should always be be bearing these points in mind. And by doing that, they are less likely to trip you up.