The rule is to transcribe what the enumerator wrote.
What if I find an error in the original census?If the error is in the original census document:
- a surname note provides an alternate surname spelling and allows the members of this family to be identified in the result of a search done on this alternate spelling. When entering a surname note, indicate if it applies to the entire family or only to this individual. Also, please include the bibliographical reference to the source that corroborates the surname provided, and if applicable, add an associated note.
You will find much more information on this at
Surname Notes -for a discrepancy in the given name, gender, and/or date of birth - an online or off-line birth record link is the preferred way to annotate the correct information.
What do I do if I find an error in the transcription?If you find an error in the index, the first thing to do is to absolutely determine whether the error is in the original data or in the transcription. Our policy is to transcribe the data as recorded in the original, even if the original is in error. We use different mechanisms to deal with errors in the original than for correcting the transcription. For a transcription error a correction can be submitted, for an error in the original we add notes and links to sources that give other information.
If the error is in the transcription, you can submit your suggested corrections as follows for each of the different census projects:
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