In some locations, there are places that have similar sounding names that could easily be confused. Did someone confuse Bedford and Bradford Counties in Pennsylvania? Did someone confuse Williamsfield in Illinois with Williamstown?
A few letters may not "really" change the sound, but they may very well change the location by a hundred miles or more.
Another issue I often run into is when people or records do not indicate that they are referring to a township which is then confused with a town of the same name, or as happens often in Pennsylvania you will have multiple townships with the same name but in different counties.
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