UK Indexer Help
Additional help can be found on the Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs) page.
DeCiphering the Transcription
Dictionaries
The dictionaries - accessible from the main UK Indexer page - can help
you to find possible matches to a name.
On the main UKIndexer page click on 'dictionary'. You will be
presented with a page similar to that shown in Figure 1 (below).
Enter a name into the search box. An asterisk can be used as a wild
card. For example entering Rober* will produce results such as Roberts
and Robertson as surnames and Robert as a forename.
Figure 1: Dictionary page.
Click the 'Find it' button. The resulting window will be similar to
that as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Dictionary search results.
The frequency at which the name occurs in the census database is
indicated alongside the possible variations of the name. Common
names such as the surname 'Roberts' and the forename 'Robert'
obviously have more occurrences than less common names such as
'Robery'.
Wildcards are especially useful if part of a name is indecipherable.
Using 'R**ert' as a search string will give suggestions as to what
the missing letters could be. It is likely that the above would be
'Robert' but, it could also be Rupert, etc. Comparison with the
census page should help in deciding which name is relevant.
General Transcription Deciphering Pointers
A census page written by more than one hand is unusual. It is possible
though to compare the style and construction of handwriting to other
entries on the same or adjacent pages.
If you are having difficulty in deciphering a name, browse the image
or adjacent images to confirm whether or not the formation of the
letters is the same as that in other names.
The census enumerator occasionally spelt names incorrectly. It is
better to record the entry as written by the enumerator. In some
cases, where for instance parents have broken with tradition, the
name is correctly spelt even though it may be different from the
norm. For example, two relevant but different spellings of the name
'Claire' exist. Or should that be 'Clare'! The records will still
be locatable due to the sophistication of the search tools employed
by the Genealogist.
It can take a while to get accustomed to how a particular enumerator
wrote. First names are more readily recognised and so give a basis as
to what letter shapes an enumerator uses. When trying to interpret a
line you should look at the line above and follow any descenders
down and try to interpret the names without the clutter of descenders
from the line above.
If a name is particularly difficult to read you will need to assemble
a range of names from the possible letters.
As a general guide the following rules apply:
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Letters such as p, f and q normally have straight 'descenders'
going below the line.
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Letters such as y, g, j are likely to have loops to the left
whereas letters that swing to the right could be f or q.
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Look for the crosses on t and the dots on j and i.
Look for straight strokes of l.
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If you can’t distinguish a forename don’t forget to look at the
column the age is written in to check the gender of the person and
their position in the household.
'Dau' or Daughter, 'Son' etc.
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Earlier census material may show a different surname spelling to a
later one; as literacy improved these variations reduced in number.
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Please use the forum. It is there for everyone to use.
Often your question may already have been answered. If not, create
a post and either an administrator or another indexer will answer
your question.
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The Tools
Once you have logged in, the UKIndexer home page displays links to
both the ‘Page Tool’ and the ‘BMD Tool’. Selecting either tool will
automatically allocate ten pages to your personal folder. Once
selected, the pages need to be reviewed and returned within three
days, otherwise they will be automatically withdrawn from your folder
and redistributed. This is to ensure that the project isn't being
held up should circumstances prevent a user from completing their
allotted work.
Accuracy is of the utmost importance when reading the census image
and editing the data. With an entry that is difficult to read, try
to enter at least the initial letter of a name followed by a ‘?’.
This will at least allow the entry to be shown in the correct letter
group when a search is performed on the 'Genealogist' website.
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Page Tool
The ‘Page Tool’ will open two windows – an edit page, and an image
page.
The top window is the edit page and it represents a page of
transcribed census records. The bottom window shows an image of the
original census page.
Figure 3: Showing both the edit and image pages.
The lines highlighted in red on the edit page are those identified
as potential errors from the transcription.
Figure 4: Highlighted errors.
The uppermost of the errors shown in Figure 4 above indicates that
the Head of the household has a different surname than other members
of the household. It cannot be assumed that this isn't true so an
inspection of the census image (Figure 5 below) is required.
Figure 5: Consulting the census image.
The image shows that an error in transcription has occurred. This
error is not with the highlighted James Royle but with his wife
having being attributed the wrong surname.
The second error highlighted in Figure 4 concerns a daughter named
Thomas which warrants investigation.
On occasions the data has been transcribed in reverse order with the
top record relating to the bottom entry on the image and vice versa.
If this occurs then click on the drop down box (located top left in
the edit window) named ‘Order’ and click on ‘Desc’.
Should the image not correspond at all with the data to edit, look at
a few pages immediately prior to and following the current image.
This can be achieved by using the links located at the top centre of
the image window.
Whether or not you find the image please use the 'Report Problem'
link to alert us that the images need to be re-aligned with the data.
This link is found at the top-right of the data page. If you have
located the correct census image then please proceed to checking the
records.
As previously indicated there will be more mistakes than just those
highlighted. Check each line of the data against the corresponding
entry on the image (this has the added advantage of more available
credits). If an incorrect entry is evident then double-click the name
or field you wish to amend. This will reveal a text box where the
correction can be entered. Figure 6 illustrates the surname of
Fielding being changed to Royle.
Figure 6: Changing a surname.
Pressing the 'Enter' key or double-clicking the left mouse button
will amend the table to recognise the changes that have been entered.
The field that was changed will now be highlighted in bold
type.
This process should be repeated for every mistake that is encountered.
When the page is completely checked press the 'Update' button as shown
in Figure 7 below. A temporary display will provide a list of the
records that will be updated before returning back to the edit page.
Press the 'Done, upload my work' button. The window should then
automatically close. Further census pages can be accessed from the
UKIndexer home page.
Figure 7: All done.
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Occupations Tool
This Project has been designed to create a list of occupations and
associative descriptions which will be used to inform Genealogists
and family historians as to the type of work that their ancestors
would have pursued to earn a living.
To compile this list it is necessary that each occupation is correctly
spelt and reduced to its simplest but complete form. For example:
- Farmer of 10 acres and employing 3 boys" becomes FARMER
- “Ag Lab" changes to AGRICULTURAL LABOURER
- "Apprentice Engineer" to ENGINEER
The description should then be written succinctly and concisely to
accurately convey what the occupation entailed.
Please note that plagiarism is an offence.
The Tool developed by the UKIndexer Admin team is very straightforward
to use. You will be presented with a page similar to that in figure
one.
Figure 1 an Occupation.
It can clearly be seen that ‘senvant’ is an incorrect spelling of
‘Servant’ and needs to be edited. This is accomplished in the usual
manner by editing the text. Figure two reflects the changes made.
Figure 2 Correcting spelling.
When the spelling is correct press the continue button. This will
present the screen shown in figure three.
Figure 3 adding a description.
The next step is to prepare and then type an accurate description.
Some research may be necessary to establish exactly what the
occupation entailed. Note that some occupations may have more than
one meaning. If this is the case enter both separated by a blank
line.
Pressing the Insert button will present a screen that displays in a
table the information that has been entered (shown in figure 4) thus
far.
Check what has been typed. If you’ve made a mistake or an omission
then just click the ‘back button’. A new screen (figure 5) is
presented which allows corrections to be made.
Figure 4 Correcting errors.
When you are satisfied everything is okay clicking the insert button
will return you to the page illustrated in figure 4.
Figure 5 Corrections.
Press the ‘confirm’ button to save the information into the database.
If the save is successful then a confirmation page will be displayed.
Pressing the ‘next occupation’ button will return you to the screen
in figure 1 but with a new occupation.
If at any time you feel that you aren’t able to fully describe the
occupation then pressing the ‘cancel this occupation’ button will take
you back to the opening screen and a new occupation will be displayed.
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BMD Tool
The ‘BMD Tool’ will open a window – this is list of data found on a
page of the BMD.
On this page, only the highlighted lines show areas that possibly need
checking. Once the window is open, scroll down to the bottom and click
'Open Image'. This will open a second window which contains the
original data from the BMD's.
Look for areas which are out of alphabetical order. This is usally
highlighted. If you see an incorrect area, click the line with the
data to open a new window as an edit page. Once you have edited the
data click 'Edit Data'. The window will then close and the original
page get updated with the new information. If this does not happen,
click 'Refresh' to see your changes. Once you have finished checking
all of the page, click 'Done' at the bottom of the page to finish.
Report unreadable entries and any other problems you notice via the
forum by quoting the name in the first record.
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