Some examples of Russell Coding?
Let’s try this on the surname SHERMAN. S H E R M A N S (is retained) Not Coded Not Coded 6 5 Not Coded 5 S 6 5 5 The explanation of the above example: S is retained as a letter, H is not coded, E is not coded, R=6, M=5, A is not coded, N=5. Therefore the NARA Soundex Code for the surname “SHERMAN” is S655. Now let’s try it on the surname WASSERMANN: W A S S E R M A N N Retained Not Coded 2 Not Coded Not Coded 6 5 Not Coded Not Coded Not Coded W 2 6 5 In this example the letters A and E are ignored altogether. The second S is not coded as it is a double letter, as explained above. The final letters are Not Coded, as only three numerals are allowed in a NARA Soundex Code. Thus Wasserm would have the same code as Wassermann. For additional Russell soundex information see The Source, A Guidebook of American Genealogy, by Arlene Eackle and Johni Cerny.
