TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES AND SOME EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULES

* At the bottom of your list you type - Transcriber's notes: "An asterisk indicates an error on the part of the original recorder not the transcriber or is used to call your attention to additional information in the Transcriber's Notes below." This is a way of keeping the document as it was written and at the same time letting the reader know you didn't make a mistake and also that you have added information in your notes which may be helpful to them.

* Use one question mark for each letter of a word you cannot read. Often you cannot tell if what is written is one letter or two, it doesn't matter as you will use an asterisk by that passenger number and describe what you see in your notes.

*In the transcriber's notes, you can write - "The ? marks indicates letters or words that cannot be read due to the quality of the original document." Don't stop here. It is important that you tell the reader this is not your error, but it is even more important that you describe what you see. There should be no names containing question marks which are not included in your transcriber's notes. Even if the only additional information you have to give is that the list was torn or damaged, some explanation is required when you use a question mark. If the list was not damaged or torn and the letter represented by a question mark cannot be deciphered, please do your best to describe the letter.

* You may read some unusual things. Occasionally a person with a man's name will be listed as a female - we know that is an error, but not ours, so an asterisk was put after the passenger number and you say in your notes that this may be an error.

* Use those transcriber's notes to tell the researcher everything you see...you become their eyes...if you do this and it is a name they are seeking, they will see it. Tell them which letters go slightly above the other letters such as l, t, h etc. Also tell them which letters go below the line such as lower case g, j, p, q.

* If you have a word that you are stuck on, leave it and continue on. Many, many times when you go back to look at, especially as you become familiar with the handwriting, it will "hit " you smack in the face. You'll say, "I can't believe I didn't see that before."

Bottom line is - IF YOU CAN'T READ IT, THEN YOU CAN'T TYPE IT.

And, NEVER GUESS !!!

There are some EXCEPTIONS to the type what you see rule. Be mindful of the "leading s" where, in the old style handwriting, the double s appears to have been written as "fs." In this instance the loop on the lower part of the "f" goes backwards and not forward and while it may look like an "f" to the eye, it is actually an "s" and should be typed as such. Be careful not to apply this rule to Scandinavian names where a combination of "fs" may be correct, as in Gustafson.

Please do not type ages as fractions when years and months are given even if an actual fraction was written on the original manifest.