I have encountered an anomaly that is closely related to the example of Abraham Lincoln's occupation being read as "sawyer" rather than "lawyer". Some of my ancestors bear the surname LINGLE, and I was having a difficult time tracing them through census records. By accident, I found an entry for my ggf, Paul LINGLE, that did not appear in the index. On investigation, I found that it was indexed, but as SINGLE. I have since found many other cases. The Soundex does not help when the initial letter is misread. Anyone researching surnames beginning with either S or L should consider this. I suspect that other combinations, such as F and T, might have similar problems.

Gary Vincent

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This is very true. The misinterpretation of handwriting can be a major stumbling block for many researchers. According to "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," edited by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking, (Chapter 5, Research in Census Records, by Loretto Szucs):

"Frequently, names are actually included in an index but cannot be found because they are misspelled to the extent that they are unrecognizable. Some surnames have been incorrectly alphabetized when indexers could not decipher even the first letter of a surname. In some handwriting styles, the letter L resembles an S; thus, the handwritten surname Lee might become See in an index. Handwriting styles have caused indexing problems when certain similar-appearing letters have been confused, including:

T and F
J, G, and Y
I and J
K and R
O and Q
P and R
U and W"

In the same chapter, Arlene Eakle contributed "Suggestions for Microfilm Searches" in which she suggests that researchers, "Create a "pony" from the actual entries in the census. How does the writer make a, h, s, p, j, and other letters which could be misinterpreted? Draft an alphabet with uppercase and lowercase letters for comparison. An easy way is to slip a piece of plain paper onto the viewing surface and trace the letters from the page."

If you're working with writing from the seventeenth century or before, "The Written Word" has some beautiful examples of early printing, manuscripts, woodcuts, calligraphy, and paleography. There is also a section on Latin with "5,000 Latin Words Defined," Small Common Words," and "Some Latin Phrases for study" that may be helpful for those researching records that were recorded in Latin.