Daily AncestorThe census taker's ear
A census taker knocks, hears a name, and writes what he hears. Listen, then pick the spelling a Soundex index search for that name would also find.
Correct
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The name was Kuhn. Careful: Coon sounds the same but starts with C, so Soundex gives it C500, not K500. Always search both first letters. Soundex tool
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The name was Thompson. H and the silent p change nothing: Thompson and Tompson are both T512. Soundex tool
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The name was Mullins. Vowels do not count in Soundex, so Mullins and Mullens are both M452. Soundex tool
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The name was Gallagher. The silent gh still counts as a G sound here: Gallagher and Gallager are G426, but Galler is G460. Soundex tool
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The name was Kowalski. Kowalski and Kowalsky are K420. Kovalski (with v) is K142, so search that spelling separately. Soundex tool
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The name was Meyer. Meyer, Mayer, Maier, Meier and Myer all share M600. Census takers wrote what they heard. Soundex tool
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The name was Reilly. Reilly and Riley are both R400. Irish names were spelled many ways, even by the same family. Soundex tool
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The name was Schmidt. German Schmidt often became Smith in English records. Both are S530, so a Soundex search finds both. Soundex tool