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Changing
Names
There
are many cases of changing last names in my family line. I suppose there
are many reasons why some one might change their name. I think a big
reason was to become more American. Also, illiteracy seemed to be an
issue. A person wasn't able to write his or her own name and most likely
couldn't tell the person writing it down how to spell the name. Poor
hand writing or more to the point that fancy hand writing of the 1700
and 1800s has become difficult for us to read today. Many names are spelt
differently from one census year to the next. Names are spelt
differently in wills, on birth and death certificates, in court books,
and everywhere I look. One bad spelling being duplicated over and over.
My
favorite mistaken interpretation of a name is the case of my great-great
grandfather Jacob Mehrer. He arrived at Ellis Island on 24 November 1907
on the ship Cambroman. Jacob Mehrer can be seen on the ships manifest on
line 1 with his wife and children listed below him. The trouble is that
Jacob Mehrer is listed as Fred Melmer on Ellis Island's web site. A
slight misinterpretation of the hand writing.
Names
that I know were specifically changed
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John
Bear (1820-1879) to John Bair - This includes his wife and children. It probably happened
sometime in the 1870s.
-
Samuel
Demarest (1707-1781) to Samuel Demaree - His change probably
happened in the 1730s. Maybe when he married his second wife Leah
Demarest. This one might have happened due to there being so many
Demarests in the world and not to mention all the Samuel Demarests.
This surname started out as desMarets in France and was changed once
David and Marie desMarets came to America.
-
Neukirch
to Newkirk to many other spellings. This spelling change I am not
clear on when it happened. I am not sure anyone else is clear about
it. I see it all different ways on all the people. The change
probably happened with Jacob Newkirk Sr. (1758-1815)
-
Dennis
Bice (1745-1835) He is listed with the DAR as Dennis VanDuyn Buys
(Bice). His father is commonly reported as being Cornelius
Buys. Why the change? Maybe to sound more American. I have no idea on this one.
-
Sarah
Ellen McLaughlin is probably the one who changed the spelling of
McGlocklin. The McLaughlin spelling may be more of a recent family
belief in how the name was spelt. She is listed as McGlocklin in
some obituaries of her relatives. Her father is listed as James
McGlocklin on her death certificate. And the 1860 census when she is
with her parents they are listed as McGlocklin.
Slight
Mistakes
For
the following names, I use what seems to be the most commonly used spelling.
That is what I find on legal
documents, census forms, and oral history of the name.
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McCutchen
or McCutcheon
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Robins
or Robbins
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Ferguson
or Fergason, Fergison, Fergason, Fergerson, and Furgison
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Klain
or Klein
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Sebring
or Ceburn
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Gaddis
or Gadis
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McLaughlin
or McGlocklin
First
Name Problems
There
are also confusions in first names.
-
Is
it Living Adams or Levin Adams? Levin seems to have been a name of
the early 1800s. And I find him listed as Levin on early census
records and on some tax lists. But on the last three census' of his
life, he is listed as Living. Why anyone would be called Living, I
am not sure.
-
Mary
or Polly? I think is an odd one.
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Sarah
or Sally
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Susanna
or Susan or Susan Ann
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Home
My
Family Tree
Descendant View
Adams Line
Adams
Bailey
Bates
Crafton
Ellis
Hood
Landom
Morgan
McCutchen Line
Boggs
Craig
Davis
Ferguson
Kinder
McCutchen
McLaughlin/McGlocklin
Reynolds
Richmond
Robins/Robbins
Bair Line
Bair/Bear
Berry
Bice
Demaree/Demarest
Gaddis
Hall
Lawson
Logan
Monroe
Newkirk/Neukirch
Sebring
Sipe
Mehrer Line
Bohnet
Brosz
Klain
Klukes
Mehrer
Other Information
Family
Histories and Stories
Where I Get My
Information
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