Letters

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THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSCRIPTION

I’ve been a very active family historian for over 20 years, and obviously fully understand the importance of an accurately transcribed document. So many times I’ve looked at a document and thought “That’s not right”, taken a closer look and realised that an error was made during the transcription.

I’ve often thought that I could do a better job, so when I first read about Transcription Tuesday I made a mental note to sign up and join in when I had some time. Lockdown due to Covid-19 has definitely given me that time, so a few weeks ago I got going on my first transcription.

Oh my goodness. Just as I have a newfound respect for teachers (our two daughters of secondary-school age are distance-learning at home), I have a newfound respect for transcribers! Let your mind wander for a second and Samuel Smyth becomes Samuel Smith, or 1896 becomes 1869 – eek! I