In article <ntWdneL-K4m_kC7anZ2dnUVZ_q6mnZ2d@rcn.net>, singhals <singhals@erols.com> wrote: > R. Scanlon wrote: > > > > Does the liberal use of aliases suggest anything? Perhaps > > running away from home to join the service (he was born > > 1859, therefore 17 at the time, and yes, his name really is > > John Doe)? > > I don't know what happens to any of these between NARA and > Ancestry.com I've found these in the CSRs at NARA: > > (a) mis-reading of a badly written name -- i.e., can't tell > if it's a W or an M, so NARA wrote a card for both, each > referring to the other. > > (b) the company clerk couldn't decide how to spell the name, > so it's in the records as Malcom and Malcolm, both of which > get a card and a cross-ref. > > (c) the soldier's name was John Malcolm, he's in there as > John M, John Malcolm, and J Malcolm, each of which gets a > card and a cross-ref to the others. > > ONCE and ONLY ONCE, I saw a Wm turn into W. M. and from > there into William M. He wasn't _mine_ so I've no clue who > he thought he was. (g) > > > > Cheryl Thanks for the comments, Cheryl. Reminds me of the WWI draft card of Joseph Aloysius Kraatz indexed as Joseph Aloysiuskraatz.