Chick: I know there are purists who have their own rules about surname spellings (as baptized or per the earliest record, etc.), but that way lies database insanity. Most early records were written by church or military officials or census enumerators anyway, and I don't see anything sacred about their spelling so where there are wide variations I use my own "standard" version as the preferred. My source citations always quote text exactly as shown so the original spelling is preserved. And if many co-researchers use a different spelling for a certain individual then I add that as an aka so it will be found in database searches. I have one surname with over 120 variations--and don't even get me started on Acadian or French Canadian records! IMO a standardized spelling for variable surnames is the only way to maintain an orderly database.
Kirsten -----Original Message----- From: k...@legacyfamilytree.com [mailto:k...@legacyfamilytree.com]on Behalf Of Chick Lewis Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2009 1:50 PM To: LegacyUserGroup@legacyfamilytree.com Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Surnames With Mc Standard? WOW! I just learned another neat Legacy trick. Thanks Dave. I have several different spellings of Vanderberg (Vanderborg. Vandenburg etc) that I would like to sort under one spelling to make it easier to find duplicates etc. I realize that names should be entered as spelled, but with so many variations it is difficult to keep track of them all. I thought about using the AKA feature so they would be included in the index, but Dave's method appears to be easier. I also realize that some sort of note would have to be included so the original spelling is not lost. How do some of you handle this? Would appreciate some opinions... Chick On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 11:41 AM, Dave Naylor <dcnay...@bell.net> wrote: > It is so simple to go to the Master Surname List and scroll down to > M. Every unique surname beginning with M will be listed, and they > can be edited (once for all individuals with that spelling) and can > also be combined (where one has a space and another does not). There > is no reason to change records individually. > > Cheers, -- Dave N. > David Naylor, Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
