Probably the most glaring difference between professional and amateur genealogists is the ability to think “outside the box”. Those with experience realize that both surnames and given names can be spelled in many different ways. Often this is the result of our ancestors being illiterate and really not knowing how their names were to be spelled. Most often, however, it is due to people in authority, county clerks, census takers, funeral directors, etc., spelling the names phonetically. Most of our ancestors, even those who were literate, were busy people who had the important things of life to tend to, fields to plow, horses to shoe, barrels to make, families to feed. They really could have cared less if a county clerk put their name in print as Twiford or Twyford, Scoggins or Scroggins.
Another common misconception has been created by the inception of the Social Security system. In our modern era, we are pretty much locked into a first name, a middle name (sometimes a third and/or fourth given name) and our surname. We often call our children by a middle name, but they are forever locked into the given order when it comes to school, military and other formal government agencies. However, back a hundred and fifty years ago our ancestors felt they could interchange their given names whenever it suited. They could be known as James William Ausbourne or William James Ausbourne and felt no compulsion to call one a first name, one a middle name. We have to be vigilant in looking for both when tracking our ancestor.
Another thing that helps immensely is knowing the history of our ancestors environs. If we are American, it is nice to know that most, but not all, of the George W’s from 19th century and before were George Washington. Most Francis M’s were Francis Marion, as were Benjamin F’s Benjamin Franklin. When getting to a blind alley in your research, stop to look for that other possibility whether you have yet proven the middle name or not. There have been many occasions where I have found that “lost” ancestor named George under the name Wash or Washington, Francis under the name Marion, Benjamin under the name Franklin or Frank. Just don’t limit your search to exact spellings or exact names.
For those of you who use Ancestry.com, try using soundex for surname searches after the exact spelling has failed. On first names, try the wildcard (*) feature. They currently require at least three letters (although I believe that they are entertaining the possibility of expanding that by decreasing to two letters). If your ancestress was named Rose, try Ros* and catch all the Rose, Rosa, Rosetta, Rosalie, etc. This feature is especially helpful with odd names that are easily misspelled, e.g. Othniel, Azrikim, etc. You may have to use several attempts when there are numerous ways to spell beyond the second letter, e.g. my son’s name of Reason can be Rea*, Rez*, Res*, Ree*, Rei*, etc.
Use that same “outside the box” mentality not only with names but with dates and places. Just because grandpa’s gravestone says 10 April 1878, don’t etch that in stone (excuse me for that one). Once again, hard working people with busy lives, especially those who lived long ones, would get confused on the year of their birth. I always put more credence on their remembering their birth date than the year of birth. Locations of vital events (birth, marriage and death) and places of residence can cause confusion, as well. Great-grandpa might have sworn he was born in Pennsylvania, but research proves that he was born in New York state and taken by his parents to Pennsylvania as a babe in arms. Often a city or town will actually be in two counties, Fair View, Kentucky is a good example. I had a man listed as being born in Christian Co. when in reality he was born in Todd Co. Put much stock in what your living elders have told you, but always retain a measure of skepticism until documentation can be established.
Until next I post, Happy Hunting!
Bob Ausbourne