Hi cousins, I agree with those that think that many of our ancestors couldn't read and caused the different spellings of family names. Census takers, etc. speeled names the way they heard them. Over the years, I've seen many x's (Tom, did I spell that right?) on legal documents. Don't you wonder who many times they signed papers which might not have been exactly what they were presented to be? Another theory that hasn't been mentioned....... several years ago a genealogist told me that when people had many bills that they couldn't pay, they simply changed their name. At that time in history, it was easy to do. Heaven forbid, it wasn't any of our Behymers! Surely not! Also, I've been told that when there was a family feud, some lines of the family simply changed the spelling. Did they think this severed the blood lines? With my $.02, how much is in the treasury? Happy hunting, Kathy Graham Friend