Use a Map to Help Transcribe

If you are having difficulty transcribing place names in virtually any record used for your genealogy research, use maps of the location where the record was created (and surrounding areas) to help you determine those locations you cannot read.

Sometimes letters or phrases are written so poorly that Google searches and other techiques do not help. Of course, this approach does not really help if the person moved around a great deal, but for those who stayed in the same general area, contemporary maps may assist you in transcribing those difficult to read place names.