Thanks Anne, Cathy, Jenny and Jean-Guy. It looks like this is a judgment call, and there is no real "standard." The solutions and alternatives were reasonable and sound. As always, thanks for the feedback. Barton
On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 06:45 AM, Jean-Guy Momy wrote: Hi Barton, I handle names in the following way: For the main name I use the name the person is born with and other names I show as alternate names. If I don't have birth information I use the name from the next available event be it marriage or death. Jean-Guy Momy CD (aka John) Palm Coast, Florida ------ Original Message ------ From: "Barton Lewis" <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: 5/13/2015 11:43:13 PM Subject: [LegacyUG] alternative versions of surname I’d like feedback on how people handle alternative spellings of a surname. My ancestor, Jacob’s will spells his surname BACHTEL. In the censuses, he spells it: BECHTOL (1830); BACHTEL (1840); BECHTEL (1850); and BECHTAL (1860). His grave marker spells it BECHTELL which is the way his father spelled it in the few documents which survive for him. Is there a best practice for how to handle these situations? The most used spelling, for example, or the spelling where it was likely verified (signed) by the party (e.g., the will)? In the censuses, I would imagine, the party told the census taker his name and (possibly) spelled it for him, or not, or even if he did, the census taker wrote it the way he wanted to. Any thoughts are appreciated. Barton Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp <http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Etiquette.asp> Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> Online technical support: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com <http://support.legacyfamilytree.com/> Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree <http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree> ) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com <http://news.legacyfamilytree.com/> ). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp <http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp> 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://support.legacyfamilytree.com 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 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://support.legacyfamilytree.com 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
