Marion wrote: >A lot of the different names could be the older ways of spelling were more >like approximations than our 20th century ways. Remember, people were a lot >less schooled. They also had fewer reference books. People probably then, as >now, went by different versions of their birth name, according to what they >liked. All true, of course, but I suspect a primary reason for the differences in spelling was simply laziness or ignorance of public recorders. Imagine the conversation: Recorder: What's your last name? Mr. B/P: "Beckelshymer" (or Bechtelhymer or Pickleshimer or whatever) Recorder: How do you spell that? [Bear in mind here that Mr. B/P, though fairly well-educated, may not be sure how to spell his native name in English] Mr. B/P, in a HEAVY German or Dutch accent, begins to spell... "B...E...C...H...etc., etc. Can you really blame the recorder if he simply writes down "B'Himer" [or "P'Simer" or whatever] and calls "Next!" Even the difference between Bechelshymer and Pickleshimer could be explained by a careless or tired or lazy recorder, listening (perhaps for the umpteenth time that day) to a heavy German accent that prounounces 'B' as 'P' and 'W' as 'V', 'D' as 'T', etc. I can understand how, when listening to a non-Anglo accent, that one might think Picklehimer when the speaker said Beckelhymer. I still hold to the theory that the original family who came to these shores had just the one name, whatever it was. It was only after submitting to the vagaries of public servants (well-meaning though they may be) that the variations began to be seen. There may have been some intentional variations or truncations along the way, but I can't believe that the family was so fragmented that they had to develop 60-70 different spellings of the name, just to be unique. We all belong to the same family, sez I! Would 'twere that we could accurately determine the original spelling. Just my $0.02, and now I'm broke! Tom Robison (Robinson, Roberson, Robyson, Robbinson, Robertson, Robeson, etc.) Tom Robison Ossian, Indiana tcrobi@adamswells.com Never forget the importance of history. To know nothing of what happened before you took your place on earth, is to remain a child forever. [unknown]