From roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Wed Mar 1 13:30:25 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by admin.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k21KUPjb027623; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 13:30:25 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l.rootsweb.com [66.43.16.22]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k21KTwMW015781 for ; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 13:29:58 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l [127.0.0.1]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k21I0FFI016924 for ; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 13:00:15 -0500 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.8/Submit) id k21I0FLH016923 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 13:00:15 -0500 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [66.43.27.41]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with SMTP id k21GwDFI016763 for ; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 11:58:13 -0500 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id k21JRlhA018838 for roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 12:27:47 -0700 X-Envelope-From: mscheffl@twcny.rr.com Wed Mar 1 12:27:47 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by admin.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k21JRljb018829 for ; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 12:27:47 -0700 Received: from ms-smtp-03.nyroc.rr.com (ms-smtp-03.nyroc.rr.com [24.24.2.57]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k21JRjHe019980 for ; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 12:27:46 -0700 Received: from 1070n (cpe-24-92-248-107.twcny.res.rr.com [24.92.248.107]) by ms-smtp-03.nyroc.rr.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with SMTP id k21JRipU023387 for ; Wed, 1 Mar 2006 14:27:45 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <010d01c63d66$36a99600$6601a8c0@1070n> From: "MScheffler" To: Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2006 14:27:43 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 X-Virus-Scanned: Symantec AntiVirus Scan Engine X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Subject: [ROOTS-L] Choosing a surname spelling revisited A few days ago list members were discussing how to choose what form of a surname to use. Most agreed that since spellings have been standardized, one should use the way each modern person spells his/her name, but the problems remain for what to do with early names, i.e. about 1800 and earlier. While doing some unrelated research, I just ran across the following paragraph in the introductory material to "Families of Ancient New Haven" by prominent genealogist, Donald Lines Jacobus regarding how he approached the issue of spelling of the names in this 2000+ page work. It may help to clarify what decisions we make in data entry. From page 3 of volume 1: "The spelling of surnames did not become standardized until a comparatively recent date. Some spellings prior to 1800 are due merely to the ignorance of the clerks or notaries who wrote the names. Others are variations which the possessors of the name themselves adopted, and which became fixed in certain branches of the family. Thus ALLING and ALLEN, COLE and COWLES, HUMPHREVILLE and UMBERFIELD, are variants of the same name. Since few of these variations became permanently fixed prior to 1800, the method of the present compilation is to disregard them and to use throughout, the spelling which prevailed in the early generations." (The capitalization of the surnames is my doing -- they were lower case in the book.) What one should not do, is take today's more formalized spellings and insist on spelling the early generation names the same way to please someone living today. We may have to learn to live with a little ambiguity -- to be as consistent as possible, but in generations prior to 1800 use the prevailing spelling for that time period. Margaret Scheffler