SEWALL-L Archives

From:
Subject: Re: Arthur Perry Sewall b:9/1/1892
Date: 4 Jan 2005 20:00:53 -0700

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.

Classification: Query

Message Board URL:

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/1BHBAIB/95.1.1.1.1.1

Message Board Post:

The ** next to Arthur's name was put there by me so you would notice him on the list.

The spelling change is meaningless in genealogy research. There was no such thing as standardized spelling until the 1900s and the majority of people were illiterate. Census takers tended to just put down what they heard, and every ten years they might hear something different. This particular surname is spelled either way, often differing within the same family group. It does not reflect a "name change" but rather a simple spelling difference that comes and goes over the years. Often the families in a given locality used a particular spelling and it tended to stick.

Regards,
Sharyn

This thread:

• Re: Arthur Perry Sewall b:9/1/1892 by

  • Re: Arthur Perry Sewall b:9/1/1892 by

  • Re: Arthur Perry Sewall b:9/1/1892 by