Research
**Script Samples from Ship Manifests**
Overcoming Obstacles
Increasing the Chance of Success
CAPITALIZED FIRST LETTERS OF NAMES LISTED ON
SHIP MANIFESTS AND THE ELLIS ISLAND DATABASE |
It is no doubt a point of frustration for
researchers like ourselves when we cannot find the name of a
person we are looking for, whether it be on the Ellis Island
database (or, for example, on a Federal Census report.) Each
ship's officers whose job it was to inscribe the name of
each emigrant into their ship's ledger had their own unique way of
writing script. Little did they know that we would be so
interested in researching our family's past one hundred years
later. It seems that it was not until 1919-1920 that
typewriters were used. This, of course, did not eliminate the
problem of misspellings or human error, but greatly reduced it.
It seems that many officers were not too familiar with Yiddish
names, and even if they were, knew how to spell them correctly. The
fault must lie, to some extent, with the language barrier that
existed between the one giving the information and the one taking
it. Can we imagine what it must have been like when our ancestors
would be asked their name? Would they say their name clearly, and
would the officer know how to spell it? Perhaps Itzhak was said,
but Itzrock was written. Perhaps a ship's officer
only spoke German and would write, for example, Fishel as Fischel
or Hersh as Hersch.
Even if the officer had asked the emigrant to write down their
name, did they know how to write? Even if they did, would they
write their name legibly and spell it correctly?
Shown below are some examples of given names that were written on
various ship manifests at the ports of Antwerp, Bremen and Hamburg
between the years of 1899 and 1914, and entered incorrectly into
the Ellis Island database. More examples will follow at a latter
date, including those pertaining to errors with surnames and the small letters
within the names. You might want to look on your
own for other examples in the
Ellis Island database. This is a good way of training
your eye to recognize the various types of errors that may occur.
By doing this, you will gain a better sense of how and why such
errors have been made, and this bit of extra knowledge will give
you a greater chance for successful searches in the future. This
is a good exercise not just with ship manifests, but is
applicable too when searching through census reports and other
handwritten documents.
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In this entry,
the letter “F” is mistaken for a “T.” In a 1914 Antwerp manifest, the
name “Feige” is entered as “Tenje.” Note also the small letter “g” is
also mistakenly written as “j,” and the “i” is mistakenly transcribed as
an “n,” despite the present of a dot nearly above the “i.”
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Sometimes
the first letter of a given or surname is not capitalized. The “F” in
Feivel, as written here on a 1904 Bremen manifest, appears to be a
“small f.” The name on the EIDB is “Jemiel,” and thus an additional
error is made in interpreting the “i” and “v” in Feivel as an “m” and
“i.”
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The given
name is listed as being “Jischel” on this 1907 Hamburg manifest, though
it should be “Fischel”. Note the bottom loop of the letter F (partially
erased), and the horizontal line that runs through the letter. Also,
because Fischel's name was registered at a German port, the letter “c” was
added to a name that might otherwise be spelled “Fishel.” Additionally,
it is worthwhile to note that if there is a question about the spelling
of a given name
with regard to a Hamburg emigration, one can easily visit the Hamburg
database at
www.linktoyourroots.hamburg.de, enter the surname, and/either the
year of immigration or estimated year of birth, and receive a typed
version of the given name that they have entered into their database. You
can then compare it to what you see on the actual ship manifest, the way
it is spelled on the EIDB, and attempt to determine which is the correct
spelling.
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This given
name should be “Grune,” though it is entered into the EIDB as “Zrune.”
This error was confirmed by comparing this capital “G” to
another capital “G” on the same page, in this case, as used with the
more familiar given name of “Golde.” This was taken from a 1903 Antwerp
manifest.
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This surname should have been
listed as "Ismach," but it will be found under "Gsmach." This was found
on a 1912 Hamburg ship manifest. |
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Here, one
would be unable to find this person listed on the EIDB because her given name “Itze” is written as “Ytze." The capital letter “I”
as written here can easily be mistaken for the letter “Y”
or even a “T.” This was taken from a 1903 Antwerp manifest. This is not
an uncommon error.
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On a 1906 Bremen manifest
, this given name is written as “Jarok,” though it should have
been written as “Izrok.” The giveaway should have
been the small line written through the second letter “z,” which is
used to indicate the letter “zed” or "z."
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The
capital letter “J” is often misread in the script form as being an “I”
or a “T,” such as in this case, where it has been transcribed as the
letter “T." The name written on the EIDB is “Tochwed” instead
of “Jochwed.”
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This given
name is listed as “Indeo” when it is really “Judes.” Also note the
separation of the small letter “d.” This was taken from a 1905 Antwerp
manifest.
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On a 1909
Antwerp manifest, the given name “Neche” is written as “Miche.” This is
not surprising, as the letter “i” is not dotted and the “c” can easily
be mistaken for an “e.”
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The name
is written on the EIDB as “Poske” rather than “Noske,” which I propose
is the correct given name. This comes from a 1908 Hamburg manifest
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This given
name is listed in the EIDB as “Lalmen” rather than “Salmen.” The capital
letter “S” is frequently mistaken for the letter “L.” This was taken
from a 1903 Antwerp manifest. This seems to be one of the more common
errors made.
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This is
another mistake made with the capital letter “S.” Here, the name is
transcribed as “Tonder,” rather than “Sender.” From an 1899 Hamburg
manifest.
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The
capital letter “S” is again misread, this time mistaken for the letter “P” in
this 1904 Bremen manifest. The name is listed as “Pimche,” rather than “Simche.” |
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This entry is a bit too
"loopy" for its own good. Notice that nice big loop at the bottom end of
the capital "Z." Believe it or not, this surname is entered on the EIDB
as "Judeh." From a 1913 Rotterdam manifest.
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This surname is supposed to
be "Zinowicz" though it is entered onto the EIDB as "Sinowicz." This
error was found on a1908 Rotterdam ship manifest. |
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