UTGenWeb - Tips: Transcription Guidelines

	UTGenWeb Tips Suggested Guidelines for Transcription of Headstones or Burial Records

Created by Andy E. Wold, UTGenWeb State Coordinator, May 2003.

Introduction

This document is a guide for individuals or groups interested in transcribing headstones or burial records for genealogical purposes. It is not intended as a procedural manual, but shows the methods that I've used or appreciated in my own experience.

Transcription Method

You can use whatever method you wish to transcribe the records: word-processor text files, spreadsheets, e-mail messages, handwritten. I feel that it is better to have the work done, than to worry about a method used. Many technically-savy people can convert whatever format you have typed them in.

The following is the method that I prefer for headstone transcription:

Use Windows' Notepad program to create a simple text file. Begin a new file for each section (or row, or surname, etc.)
Use genealogical standards for dates (DD Mmm YYYY), ie: 03 Jan 1897.
Use French braces "{...}" for notes what are included within the transcription.
Use an underscore to indicate un-readable text "Samuel Sn____er Jones"

Type the transcription in a line-by-line format. If the first line of the headstone only has the individual's first names, then their surname on the next line, type it in that manner.

click to enlarge photo

HALLMARK
John Ivy
07 Oct 1918
02 Mar 2001
Families Are Forever
{MESA Temple}
08 Jun 1949
Norma Thomson
30 Mar 1925
Jan, Joan, Judy, David, John, Jim, Rick, Linda

If the headstone has more than one side, include a descriptor preceding each section — {back}, {north side}, etc.
Leave one or more blank lines between each new stone.

Proof Reading

Have someone else go over the transcription to notice any spelling errors, questions, etc. Oftentimes, having another set of refreshed eyes glance over your transcription can be a helpful benefit.

Requirements for the Completed Work

Give the date of the transcription, so that future genealogists will know what period the record covers.
Give the town, county, and state of the cemetery to be transcribed. If directions are needed, give them from the nearest major highway to the cemetery. Include street names, exit numbers, and at least approximate distances. If GPS coordinates can be easily determined, include them.
Include a description of how the records were obtained.
- Cemetery Contact's name, phone number, and description of the records — completeness, condition, etc.
- If transcribing headstones directly or photos, describe which end of the cemetery the work was began from, and the method of travel through the cemetery — row-by-row, section-by-section, by grave number, by surname, etc.
List of persons involved in transcription, proof-reading, data entry, photography, coordination, etc.

Backup Copies of the Work

Be sure to make electronic backups of the transcription, and keep a printed copy of the transcription as well. Viruses can affect the electronic form of your hard work, but they can't touch a good printed copy.

Donating the Work

E-mail a copy of the transcription files to the USGenWeb County Coordinator (www.usgenweb.org) for the county that the cemetery resides in, as well as the USGenWeb's Tombstone Project. Include a simple statement of donation of the work for publication on the internet.

Donate a printed copy of the transcription to the Family History Library (www.familysearch.org). If you donate it in loose sheets and give them permission to microfilm it, the library will microfilm the transcription, give you a copy of the microfilm, and bind the sheets into a volume for the library's bookshelves — at no cost to you!

Donate a printed copy of the transcription to the cemetery's local historical society, to the local libraries, to the local Family History Center(s), and even to your own local library.