25 December 2013

Get Over Spelling

First and last names of your ancestor will be spelled differently, sometimes different ways in the same document. There is more to "matching" people that the spelling of their first and last name. Make certain you have valid reason to believe people appearing in different records are the same person.

And remember--the name is usually considered the "same" if the pronunciations are the same. That missing "e" may irritate you, but it doesn't mean it's an entirely different person.

1 comment:

  1. Two different things to look out for -- nick names and very different spelling of names. My ancestor Mary Camp is shown as "Polly Kemp" in the record of her marriage in 1808.

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