Close Spellings Count Toward Matches

Sharon Tate Moody has published an article in the Tampa Bay Online web site that should be required reading for all beginning genealogists. She writes:

Genealogy is all about names. We find most records through surnames, and then narrow the search with given names. But too many of us search only for the perfect match. Close counts not only in horseshoes but also in heritage hunting.

You can read the entire article at: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jan/04/tr-close-spellings-count-toward-matches.

Comments

[Christine]

Thank you for the great tip on names doing my gen i noticed yesterday that some of my ancestors names are spelled differently i will in the future be more aware of the names.

[Dae Powell]

Great tip even for those of us who get too focused and forget the basics. But hey! Where's the "Share This"? How can I twit it?

Happy Dae.
http://ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[Joe Callahan]

Wading through the the far flung names brought up in a soundex search can take time, but that is how I found my Callahan ancestors listed a "Kielleham" in the 1870 census. A census taker named Wellig (German?) made that interpretation of what he heard.

[John]

And it isn't just the long names - even "Lee" can have several spellings and variations.

[Karen Weston]

I run an archives and found papers for a John Read once, with Read spelled five different ways in the packet.

[Linda]

I found a marriage record for Aaron Seymour indexed as Aaron C. Moore. The license was Aaron C. Moore; the return was Aaron Seymour.

[Dawna]

In the 40 years I have been researching the EUSTICE (pronounced YOU-STISS) family, I have found the surname spelled or mispelled over 100 different ways. Often, the further back in time, the more creative the spellings, such as UZTAZT in a christening record. However, though some of the variations are by the clerk or recorder, just as many or more are created by an indexer who couldn't properly decipher the handwriting. The following variations were found in Ancestry.com's index alone:
ARTICE, AUSTICE, CURTICE, CURTIN, CUSTES, CUSTICE, CUSTIN, CUSTIS, EASLIS, EASTAULS, EASTIN, EASTIS, ECCSTELL, EISTER, EISTILL, ELHIE, ENGLIS, ENOTIE, ENSLIS, ENSLOW, ENSTAICE, ENSTAW, ENSTEAD, ENSTICE, ENSTIE, ENSTIS, ENSTREE, ENSTVER, ENTHIE, ENTIN, ENTUS, ERSTAEN, ESSUCE, EUSHACE, EUSHIE, EUSTACE, EUSTALL, EUSTEN, EUSTER, EUSTIS, EUTICE, EUTUS, GUSTER, GUSTIN, HENDRI, HEUSTIS, HEWSTEP, HUSTEP, HUSTUS, JUSTIS, RUSTER, USELESS, USTEAR, USTERH, USTES, USTINGS, USTON, USTUS, YUSTES

[Elisabeth]

When my friend could not think of an alternative spelling of a name, she would ask her young son how he would spell it. He would come up with spellings that she would never have thought of, a good idea for those of us who are sticklers for spelling.

[Bob E.]

Yes, well in addition to horseshoes, close also counts in dancing, and for that matter hand grenades!

[mareruth]

I'm new at genealogy. How do you manage all those different spellings in your database files? Do you keep the last names the same always and merge the files? Help! I found one ancestor's line (Quave or Cuevas) that is pretty much duplicated except for the spelling of the names. I don't want to have duplicate people in my database, but I'm not sure how to handle the name spellings and the filing system??

[Dick Eastman]

---> How do you manage all those different spellings in your database files?

I don't believe there is a single, simple answer. There are probably as many different ways of organizing a genealogy database as there are genealogists. HOWEVER, I always try to use the spelling that the person used during their lifetime. Of course, sometimes it is difficult to tell which one(s) they used. Many of our ancestors could not read or write and therefore they often had no idea how to spell their own names.

I typically use the spelling on the tombstone, if I can find it. My assumption is that most people selected a spelling by the time they died, if they could read and write. Otherwise, I use whatever spelling I believe the person used the most. Admittedly, a few times I simply guess.

Most genealogy programs offer a database field for "other names" or "also known as." I place all the variant spellings into that field.

A good example is my great-great-grandfather. The various U.S. census records show his last name variously as Dubé (which I believe is the preferred spelling) as well as DuBay, du Bay, de Bay, Debay, Deabay, Deabey, and once as Dubois (which I believe is an error). His first name was spelled sometimes as Leandre and sometimes as Andrew and once as Andre.

My older uncles remembered this man who died when they were children and they tell me that he could not read or write. The U.S. census records agree. I doubt if he cared how his name was spelled. That's downright inconsiderate for us in the later generations!!

- Dick Eastman

[Cheryl Williams]

Yes this is a great column. I read it every Sunday in the Tampa Tribune! My local paper.

[gene]

Have been searching for years for the name Dunn. Spelled it O'Dunn; O'Doiin; O'doin; Dunna; Duna; Doin; Dunne; O'Dunne; and more. This would be before 1850. Anyone have any suggestions??

[Suzia]

You might catch some transcription errors by substituting r and/or m for the n's in Dunn.

[Bonnie]

This is so true. I had been searching for my Robinson ancestors in the 1900 Michigan census and could not find them. As it turned out they were listed under Roberson. Try to think of every possible way the name might be spelled and check it.