I would transcribe names EXACTLY as given in the original record. If it says Geo. I leave it that way. And if the handwriting is sloppy where you can't tell if it is an "a" or and "o", I will put down "Jas. [or Jos. ?] so that search engines will pick it up.


--- On Thu, 1/22/09, Ted Delaney <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Ted Delaney <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: [VA-ROOTS] Given Name Abbreviations
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 10:15 AM
> I'm curious what the prevailing opinion is about the
> reliability and consistency of given name abbreviations in
> 18th- and 19th-century Virginia documents.
> 
> For example, does "Jas" always mean
> "James"?
> 
> Can "Jos" mean anything other than
> "Joseph"?
> 
> If we are transcribing names from a primary source of that
> period, is it wrong to record "Geo" as
> "George"?  Are there professional or ethical
> standards about this?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Ted
> 
> 
> **********************************
> Ted Delaney
> Archivist & Curator
> Old City Cemetery Museums & Arboretum
> Lynchburg, Virginia
> (434) 847-1465
> [log in to unmask]
> 
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