Genealogy Chat

LOL I have only got back to my gt granfather and already my family name has been changed from Britten to Britton. I know it is also spelled Brittain/Britain/Bretton ect. At least it isn't TOO common! BTW, there are several roads near me called Beauchamp Hil/street/walk and people pronounce it Beecham. So I can see how easy it is to get confused ;o) Claire xx

Zoe Think it's pronounced Minguy or something like it!

I live in County Durham and would like to quote two prime examples of what happens with dialect in my part of the world. Sacriston is still referred to as 'SAGGY' or 'SAGISON' Whilst Houghton le Spring is often called 'HOWTON'

June, Have another look on the Norfolk/Suffolk connections thread. Peter has posted a useful site with names from the Yarmouth area. Frances

June, do check out this Norfolk Transcriptions Archive site: http://www.genealogy.doun.org/transcriptions/links.php

I know what you mean I spent 3 months looking for my family and then realised that the census taker had spelt it phonetically!

here's one for you all - took me AGES to figure it out when I first moved to Scotland - I'll give you the correct pronunciation in a bit Milngavie

June, I would have thought Clements could be Claymonts. Where do you think they are in Narfalk? We have a very old ironmongers called Clements here in Wymondham? By the way, I just had a quick look and there are about 500 Clements and variations on the Norfolk Transcription Archives site for b, m, and d taken from the parish records.

mate... i come from orstraylya......I have no idea how ya say ya names .

I can see were that can be frustrating I was born in Bristol just( we moved just after I was born) But I tell every one I come from Alresford (slap my wrist) But I could also say I was bourn in Cliffton (A sub of Bristol. ) I was also bourn in Glos But now Its Avon. At one point I beleve it was also in Somerset for a wile befor a border change?

This can be frustrating can't it? I've found some of my relies have moved from their birth area and then told the census people in the new area where they lived. The census people there didn't know the place so wrote it how they thought it should be spelt not how it actually was spelt. For example : Weeke became Wyke Then when that place got transcribed onto Ancestry for example, the transcriber couldn't read it well and wrote it down as something completely different again! It also doesn't help when they keep changing where they were born. I have one set who in each census changed where they were born!

Hers one for you. My ex came from (as she said it ) Crookcan Thats Crewkerne in Dorset Also as I said above I came from Alresford Well another bad habbit of us locales is we never say NEW Alresford it full name, to out siders this can be confusing as there is another Alresford in Kent (I think) with no prefix. So all so be aware of lost prefixes such as New, Old, Upper, Lower, By the, and so on.

Don't forget the bad writing!!! I looked at the transcribed parish records for the family name of Cattermole in Suffolk. The first name on the register in the 16th century was Kackermoulle - and yes I traced the Cattermoles (via Catermules, Catmoles Kackers etc) back to Kackermoulle. maggie

I found it difficult adjusting to Leicestershire place names - I asked my husband to be where this Beaver Street was that he kept mentioning - turned out to be Belvoir! Then there's Heether spelt Heather and Witick spelt Whitwick not to mention Kelorten (Coleorton)...

I was sent some supposedly carefully researched stuff about my ancestors. He has them all baptised in Ooper Darrun Church - took me a while to get Upper Darwen out of that! I can only assume that he got his facts by word of mouth from a local. (And I'm still looking for the Church - there wasn't one until some two hundred years after all these people were born) Marjorie

LOL spot on! I was doing some research for a friend. In several Censuses, a few his ancestors claimed to have been born in Wargate. This turned out to be Worgret in Dorset - or should I say Darrset. Dave

There's a question on the General Board tonight about a place called Brude in the 1851 census. I found that the 1881 census has eight people allegedly born there but none of them is living near there now. Six of the eight say the place is in Staffs. Someone has suggested that the place is actually Brewood which is locally pronounced Brude.

Yor ri bor, Ay leev im Wymondham, Narfalk. We seys thart Windom.

Peter I was miles ahead of you here and that is why I can often be seen mouthing and grimacing and doing a Coronation Street accent as I walk around my home town! (Poor old thing, they think) You also have to imagine they had a heavy cold, a speech impediment, the clerk was deaf etc. Marjorie

Definitely given me something to think about! Wonder if that's why my Hawkridge's so often get spelt as Hockridge????