"singhals" <singhals@erols.com> wrote in message news:n_2dnfZaucrtuTLanZ2dnUVZ_sUAAAAA@rcn.net... > | > Personally, I think the third letter is a w -- that little serif at the | > upstroke? (see also Jules LOUIS, son of Celestin on pg 85B which has the | > same u-by-a-high-start-next letter combo); I don't see a Georges | > anywhere to compare with, but two lines above Celestin is a Eugene, and | > the ug combo doesn't have the serif. | > | > There is another Numa on pg 85B and Henri is of course the French | > version of Henry, so those two names are OK. | > | > FWIW. | > | > Cheryl | | And a peripheral glance as I was closing the page leads me | to add -- it COULD be a double-e at the end of the word. | Not that it makes either option a more recognizable word, | mind, even in Louisiana, but it's an indexing option. | | The final letter does not mimic other final s I see, nor | does it appear to be a t or d. | | Cheryl Kind of agree with Cheryl on the w: GOWGUES. But it could be an "u" which is disconnected from the balance of the name. But I think the final letter is an "s" - Monsieur Bourg's "s"es vary considerably from one name to the next. The final "s" in Charles on the same line as Gowgues/Gougues, in Ellis, James, and in not final but still approximately the same treatment in Louise, Alphonse, Alphonsine, etc., elsewhere on the page all seem to make it to be an "s". I had a heck of a time transcribing the 1850 Census of Algiers (part of Orleans Parish) for USGENWEB Census project due to handwriting. But I think I won! Henri/Henry