This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: apurdy199 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.canada.newbrunswick.westmorland/344.2.2.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Yes, = means married. It avoids confusion with the intial M and it attracts the eye in a wad of text. I don't know where I first saw this used. It also allows searching documents without finding a lot of false hits. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.