tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post3669163519858084502..comments2024-03-16T13:05:52.650-07:00Comments on A Family Tapestry: William’s Kid BrotherJacqi Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-48132848933821271632014-09-23T19:08:05.036-07:002014-09-23T19:08:05.036-07:00Jeff! Thank you so much for getting in touch! And ...Jeff! Thank you so much for getting in touch! And thanks for the help with those details. If you are currently researching your family tree, I would love to talk with you further.<br /><br />I think I just found you on Ancestry.com, so I sent a message to you there as well.<br /><br />Looking forward to comparing notes!Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-60060074528228357502014-09-23T18:25:03.281-07:002014-09-23T18:25:03.281-07:00This is clearly about my Grandmother, Buena Marger...This is clearly about my Grandmother, Buena Margery's family. I do remember Verdera LaFay. Her tombstone reads Verdera LaFay Shettel. She did leave home around 1915. One further point on Olive is that my Grandmother told me that her mother, Olive was adopted.Jeff Okersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14261426071861690372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-8108549273815912572013-04-19T17:22:20.444-07:002013-04-19T17:22:20.444-07:00Mariann, you need an award for perseverance to hav...Mariann, you need an award for perseverance to have found so many variations on what should be a fairly straightforward surname. I can understand Fraser/Frazier, but <i>Forca</i>?!<br /><br />That also illustrates why I prefer looking at the actual document, rather than the transcription. It is indeed hard to index terrible handwriting (believe me, I've tried indexing, myself), but when you know the bigger picture about your own family line, you can make a better judgement call when it comes to which way a squiggle of handwriting should fall. If all the first names, ages and states of birth line up, but one letter causes ambivalence in transcription calls, you would know what letter to fill in the blank better than someone who knows nothing about the context of that family grouping. I could see how a "Vergina" could be transcribed as a "Eugenia" quite easily.<br /><br />Of course, that's why I mourned the removal of so many images of documents on FamilySearch.org. It was so much better to take a look and decide for myself, than to have to second guess the work of a stranger who was second guessing a document about my family that I couldn't see.Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-82231227249234426882013-04-19T17:14:05.954-07:002013-04-19T17:14:05.954-07:00I've wondered about that, Far Side. I've s...I've wondered about that, Far Side. I've seen some census records that got me wondering just who it was who provided the information at census-taking time. Sometimes I think it wasn't even a relative--maybe just a neighbor filling in when the folks weren't at home!Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-1713759843700369622013-04-19T17:12:28.441-07:002013-04-19T17:12:28.441-07:00Linda, I think that custom was pretty widespread--...Linda, I think that custom was pretty widespread--either as a given name for the children (sons given the mother's maiden name as a middle name) or for the women themselves, as they became married. I've seen that a lot in previous time periods, but it's not just isolated to one past era. Actually, at times, I've done that, myself.<br /><br />I think the more confusing scenario is when someone has, for a middle name, an obvious surname--for instance, in the case of this family, Harvey Payne Woodworth. "Payne" obviously is not a typical given name, so it makes one think it is a family name...but I've yet to discover <i>whose</i> family the name is derived from! I can't just assume it was his mother's maiden name--and further research carried out that fact--but it sure could be tempting at first glance.Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-38555507067417218962013-04-19T17:06:56.928-07:002013-04-19T17:06:56.928-07:00I suppose that's what makes it fun, though: th...I suppose that's what makes it fun, though: the chase, with all its frustrations, still has the draw of a who-done-it.Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-18279283819032513142013-04-19T17:05:42.257-07:002013-04-19T17:05:42.257-07:00Thanks for the link, Iggy! And I did see that Ance...Thanks for the link, Iggy! And I did see that Ancestry.com family tree entry. The only part I'm missing is any verification for the part that adds the name, "Alice." Wonder where they got that from...Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-83954933379530882412013-04-19T17:04:17.999-07:002013-04-19T17:04:17.999-07:00Oh, I've been there with that spelling grief o...Oh, I've been there with that spelling grief on the German side, too, Wendy. But you're right--in this case, it most certainly was a few "errant crossing" situations...handwriting gotten out of hand.Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-66030472167651524872013-04-18T21:38:21.750-07:002013-04-18T21:38:21.750-07:00As it happens, today in my family tree searches I ...As it happens, today in my family tree searches I saw on census records about a dozen quite silly variations of the fairly common surname Fraser. Not only Frazier, but Forca, Frorsi, Fracho . . . you get the picture. I'm thinking the census takers didn't ask for names to be spelled, or no one offered. I'm learning to recognize our family name through a mishmash of letters that just gesture in the name's direction. It's kind of like reading a Captcha. Verdera and LaFay are indeed kind of distant, tho. (Today I had Eugenia N and Vergina H., which are plausibly alike.)<br /><br />I think we all find this an intriguing and frustrating subject!<br /><br />Mariannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543003593158696611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-87298443648609720482013-04-18T20:57:31.932-07:002013-04-18T20:57:31.932-07:00Years ago..the census takers would talk to who eve...Years ago..the census takers would talk to who ever answered the door...even small children who could not spell. Many of the Census takers could hardly spell and sometimes the penmanship was horrid. I think this add to many problems:..but you are making headway:)Far Side of Fiftyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07995757632158408442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-78856147583996346662013-04-18T16:19:13.147-07:002013-04-18T16:19:13.147-07:00Iggy! I've got to get you working on my famil...Iggy! I've got to get you working on my family :-)<br /><br />I agree about all the name issues. One I run across in one of my lines in the 1880s-1900s in the midwest is one I rarely seen discussed. Has anyone else seen this one?<br />I have women who basically 'hyphenated' their maiden name and married name. And the maiden name was usually recorded on censuses and other records as the middle name. For example, Pearl Evelyn Rockwood married Hall. When asked her name, she would apparently say "Pearl Rockwood Hall". And she was recorded as Pearl R. Hall. This happened again and again, for a number of women over many records. Yet family informant records, ie death certs, would give Pearl Evelyn Rockwood Hall. <br />I waver between "You go, Girl!" and "Darn, that's confusing. Have I got the right person?"<br />Linda Schreiberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11858967138913513166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-83382079289574602562013-04-18T15:16:08.707-07:002013-04-18T15:16:08.707-07:001928 must have been a tuff year for that family. ...1928 must have been a tuff year for that family. I do empathize with the name problem -- if those ancestor-types weren't misspelling, using middle names, or just making up new names, our job would be so much easier.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07948553013206247354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-60224520400992037492013-04-18T07:12:32.361-07:002013-04-18T07:12:32.361-07:00Given Olive's father was recorded as "Fra...Given Olive's father was recorded as "Franklin Lycurgus Hostetler" in the voter's rolls, I think its safe to say the name had a "tl".<br /><br />As for Verdera/Lafay goodness... seems like two different people!! Until you notice the name is Alice Verdera Lefey.<br /><br />(http://books.google.com/books?id=Q_RUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA854&lpg=PA854&dq=verdera+lafay+woodworth&source=bl&ots=pMGVvv6IoI&sig=PY6J9vZ5hg7YCMxG2OhU760XxBE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iP5vUeb_AoWy4APO94B4&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=verdera%20lafay%20woodworth&f=false)<br /><br />and further supported by a family tree in Ancestry.Com<br /><br />Intense Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08441598926026727682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034998384799920884.post-75708653023215076672013-04-18T04:18:43.592-07:002013-04-18T04:18:43.592-07:00Tracking spelling across numerous records is an in...Tracking spelling across numerous records is an interesting little pastime. I've watched my German lines go from Ebert to Epart to Eppard. In this case it's easy to hear the German pronunciation as a clerk might have heard it and thus spelled it. Many people didn't know how to read or write, so they wouldn't know how their own name ought to be spelled. Looking at your Hostetter/Hostetler case, I am sure both names existed much like Johnson and JohnsTon. A clerk might have written the more common form just "assuming." More likely, either an errant crossing of the T or failure to do so could account for the multiple interpretations of their name. But I know you know that.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17863357756727783017noreply@blogger.com