For all of you struggling through reading these blurry, poorly-written old
images, here are a few tips that can help:
1) Names: Check the gender of the deceased. It is sometimes a clue as to
what the first name is (or isn't)
2) Names: If the person was single, look at the father's surname to see if
it is more clearly readable than the deceased's. They are often the same.
For single or married, check the informant's signature. It is sometimes the
same surname as the deceased and may be clearer to read.
3) Names: After you decide what you think the name is, count your bumps and
loops to make sure what you think it is fits.
4) Dates: For a hard-to-read death date, look at the physician's notes below
the Date of Death field. Names of months are sometimes fully written out to
help decide whether you are looking at Jan or Jun. Dates written in these
fields as well as the date the physician signed his report, the date of
burial or the date the certificate was filed can all help you narrow your
choices. If you can't tell if the date is 23 or 28 Jan and the doctor signed
the certificate on the 24th and the person was buried on the 25, you can be
pretty sure you aren't looking at a death date on the 28th.
5) Birth dates: If you have a very unreadable last number or two in the
year, it is permissible to use a calculator or genealogy date calculator to
decide between two choices. Just don't use a calculator to determine entire
dates, alter dates as written on the certificates, or alter age fields.
6) All: Look for patterns in the handwriting. If you can't decide if the
letter is a capital L or capital S, look for other places down the left side
of the certificate where the same writer may have written one or the other
of those letters. It may help you eliminate or confirm one of the choices.
7) All: Try looking at a name from a sharp angle (either from the left or
right) to see if it looks different to you.
8) All: Use your brain as well as your eyes. If you just start looking at
individual letters, you will come up with some pretty atrocious strings of
letters. If you stop and think about what common name the person could be
writing phonetically, you might come up with a reasonable name. For
instance, Elmer might be the correct transcription for a male, but for a
female it might be Eliner.
Feel free to post your favorite tips to share with the rest of us. Please
put "Transcription Tips" in the subject line.
As always, thanks for your wonderful work on our project,
--Sheryl Slaughter
Kentucky Vital Records Project Coordinator
World's best striper fishing--Lake Cumberland in Kentucky
ReelTime Guide Service:
http://fishreeltime.com