Good Day Bill,
How you might handle a name change in Legacy would depend upon whether this was a legal or common law change. If legal (at least under today’s procedures), that would involve a county court hearing (usually Superior). Legal name changes also involve publication in the legals section of a local newspaper. The court could tell you which newspaper would have been used. If legal, I would include an Event/Fact item for a court record of the surname change, along with an AKA listing to identify the other surname. The court records would also tell you the ‘why’ of the surname change. If common law, that might be a bit more difficult. You will have the 1940 census, and maybe the 1930 census if the surname was used prior to that enumeration, to give you some information (for example, occupation). Depending upon when your ancestor registered for Social Security would identify whether you will find any information about such a surname change. If the person lived in a large city, you might consider using directories for that city. With a common law name change I would use only an AKA reference with a note identifying when the surname began being used. Best, Denise L. Moss-Fritch From: William (Bill) R. Linhart [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 12:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Name / Nickname entry / 2nd SURNAME entry Concerning names: How do you handle in Legacy an individual who has a birth SURNAME that he uses for 25 years and then changes his SURNAME for last 50 years of his life? I have been using Legacy aka's for spelling variations and nicknames but when a person changes their SURNAME, how do you handle that? Same way? It does not feel right. I don't have a year yet but have a range of sometime in the late 1920's after serving in WW I. I am hoping to find a legal record some day. This person never drove a car or needed a passport. This person never went overseas after WW I. Maybe he had to prove something for social security enrollment in 1936? Thanks, in advance, for your consideration of this request. Bill in Philadelphia Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
