Online census transcriptions are invaluable to genealogists, but it is essential to always examine the original entry, rather than rely on the transcription itself.
Researching a family in Harrow this week, one of our team found a place of birth in the 1851 census rendered "Hannover Weald" in the transcript. On closer inspection, it read "Harrow Weald", which was a township in the parish of Harrow on the Hill. So no links to Germany then!
The fact that the word Weald was clearly legible must surely alerted the transcriber to the fact that this referred to a more local place, although not enough to investigate further and recorded it correctly.
This demonstrates that it is important to think creatively when using transcription websites, and always look at the original.
