Author Topic: Spelling names  (Read 4752 times)

Offline MartinR

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2021, 11:13:01 AM »
Mum's maiden name was Boyes.  It comes from de Bois, and over the years has given rise to Boyce and Boys as well.  However, not all Boyce and Boys surnames come from de Bois.  Confusing isn't it!  Christian names don't seem to change as much though: one ancestor of mine was John Bois (sometimes spelled Boys or "Boyse") (5 January 1560 – 14 January 1643), and my late Uncle was John Boyes

Offline John Walker

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2021, 10:45:39 AM »
The long-told story in the Scottish side of my family is the surname, Roger.  The story goes that the original name was Roget and was French.  The family was apparently connected to the executioners for the French Royal Family.  Along with the royals they fled to Scotland and the name gradually changed to Roger.

The story is strongly upheld by family members all over the world but I can't find a shred of evidence so far.


The other Scottish side of the family is Baxter.  All lived around Peterhead, above Aberdeen.  It is believed there is a strong connection with Baxter Soups but again, I find no evidence.

Offline johnfilmer

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2021, 06:04:18 PM »
Just found a cracking transcription error 1891 Census for Isabel Howland (later to be involved in the Burham attempted murder). She was born in Minster, Sheppey, but had entered Sheerness on this occasion. Ancestry has it as Sheerness on Sin. Maybe the person transcribing the record knew Sheerness better than they should... ::)
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Offline Lutonman

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2021, 04:44:09 PM »
I have a wedding certificate of a family member where the Father's name is spelt differently to the Daughters name and the signature different yet again. I don't think they could make their minds up!

Offline Dave Smith

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2021, 10:14:17 AM »
grandarog. Your mention of American ancestors reminded me of historical novels by, I think, Jack London, that i read in my youth. They were about "the gentry" living in New England & their obsession with their ancestors being British. If they could make a connection, it really elevated them in their society.

pete.mason

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2021, 03:14:52 PM »
Another rule I abide by when researching. Never Never trust someone elses Transcription always check the orriginal. It is amazing how many transcribers make typo errors or misread words. Also never believe anything from Americans Family trees on line .The number of Americans that have some of my ancestors recorded as being of US states such as Michegan,Delaware,Washinton,and Rhode Island that just happen to  have towns named Kent.


Some of that is due to Ancestry autofilling information and it doesn't show until you revisit. Back to names, my paternal GM's maiden name was Sugar (living  in Somerset) When agriculture slumped mid C19 many of them moved to mining in Wales and started taking on an "h" becoming Shugar. I'm pretty sure that the original spelling would be pronounced Siugar in Welsh, some of them emigrated to Pennsylvania and for some reason added as "S" at the end to make it Sugars

Offline grandarog

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2021, 10:11:01 AM »
Another rule I abide by when researching. Never Never trust someone elses Transcription always check the orriginal. It is amazing how many transcribers make typo errors or misread words. Also never believe anything from Americans Family trees on line .The number of Americans that have some of my ancestors recorded as being of US states such as Michegan,Delaware,Washinton,and Rhode Island that just happen to  have towns named Kent.

Offline johnfilmer

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2021, 09:35:24 AM »
Rule number one regarding family history is that whatever you were told is usually wrong!


As we lived together, I spent ages chatting to my paternal Grandfather when I was in my early teens and he in his early eighties. According to what he had been told the family name of Clement had the s attached when his father, a baker, sold Clement’s bread.


Total BS. The s has come and gone, occasionally spelt Clemence on the same record as Clements, and I have got back to the 1600s.


It does rather complicate matters when struggling to read a scrawl written with a quill, but you do need a sense of humour when you realise that you have the wrong person after all. Cousins with the same name are the best.
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Longpockets

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2021, 09:13:55 PM »
I worked with a guy whose name was Duffissey who had Irish roots. I asked him one day the origin of his name. One of his ancestors and some point was asked his surname for official records and he answered Duffy Sir but it was recorded as Duffissey.

Offline Alastair

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2021, 12:28:00 PM »
Spent many years trawling parish records and the reason for the differences in spelling is, invariably, the cleric who wrote it down.
The person getting married, or whatever, may or may not have been able to write but told the cleric his/her name and the cleric wrote what he heard. So if the person had an accent this would have distorted the name written. Different clerics would spell names in different ways. It is possible that names were deliberately spelt differently to distinguish them from another family with the same name, but that's my own theory.
The difference in spelling is down to the cleric.
Alastair

Offline Lutonman

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2020, 07:27:35 PM »
Yes, John Filmer found exactly the same. Also having seen copies of register and census entries these are not always correct interpretations of the real name.

Offline Lyn L

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Re: Spelling names
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2020, 01:30:49 PM »
I have.
 In 1634 my maternal family are recorded as WOLVERIDGE . Down through the years it has changed to Wooldridge . On my late hubby's side one family whose name was Barrow , had quite different names on Censii. Barr, Burrow  even Brown !
 If circumstances had been a little different  ( ooh ) my maiden name should have been Precious ! My paternal Gt Grandmother had a son but  out of wedlock  as his Father was only 14 yrs and she was 20 , naughty naughty. They did get married a few years later but my Grandad lived with his Grandparents and kept her maiden name .
Family history can be so fascinating.

Offline johnfilmer

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Spelling names
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2020, 11:58:00 AM »
 
If you have delved back through your family tree you will no doubt have found names spelt differently, an obvious result in the (not necessarily that distant) past where the subject themselves is illiterate. Conversely there are those with consistent unusual spellings, who only place their mark, but still know to direct, say, the Vicar to spell their name correctly. Foord is a good example.
Also there seems to be a level of choice, as in my own family there are those of my Grandfather’s siblings and their descendants, who spell their surname Clement rather than Clements. This has happened many times over the past years with the names changing back and forth over and within generations.
I have recently been ferreting around some early (1600s) ancestors, and Michael is repeatedly spelt Mighel, even for the same person at the same time.
My attention was drawn to my 9x Great Grandfather, an Edward Ely (or Elie) due to his longevity, he died at Eastling in 1640 aged 86. He had married again in 1615 (already aged 61), at Harrietsham, the 45 year old widow of James Tassell, farmer. Edward was described as a Yeoman, of Eastling.
The widow’s name was recorded as Cartwright Tassell, which seemed very unusual.
Further digging found James Tassell being married on 23 November 1588 (that’s only a few months after the Armada, for context) at Tonge to one Gartred Catlett. Others have later recorded her as Gertrude.
I assume that whoever recorded her name as Cartwright must have heard Gartred and phonetically written the nearest word that they knew.
James’s mother looks to have been Alice of Brandenburg so perhaps Gartred also had Germanic connections and a guttural accent? That I will never know for certain does not diminish my interest. Has anyone else found a baffling name?
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