ANSWER: There IS no consistency. While 'wright' seems the older spelling, 'right' was found , too, even in the earliest periods...... My mother's branch of the GA family have been " BoatRight" since the 18th century. But two of her brothers, while in the military during WW II, had their surname changed to "BoatWright" by the government, probably the assumed spelling version of a clerk. But to this day, there are both R's and W's among one immediate members of a Boat(?)ight family! Take your choice. W. Vernon Edenfield (g.g.g.g.grandson of Daniel Boatright , R.S. ,of Georgia) ----- Original Message ----- From: <WHAWJA@aol.com> To: <BOATRIGHT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 11:26 PM Subject: Re: [BOATRIGHT-L] Re: Does anyone know when or why we dropped the "w"? > I don't know about other families but my grandfather spelled his > "Boatwright" while one of his brothers left the "w" out. To my > knowledge, there was no > rhyme or reason. > > > ==== BOATRIGHT Mailing List ==== > Any off subject questions or problems PLEASE > email me privately at: MeMeC@alltel.net > Always try to be Fair, Honest and Kind! > >