Wally makes a very good point about using what we call in library cataloging: AUTHOR NAME AUTHORITY CONTROL. Basically, it is the process of selecting a standard form for someone's name to be used as a MAIN ENTRY for that person with all other variants listed as added entries. An AUTHORITY FILE can be developed and posted which lists the main entry chosen. The authority file can also include supporting documentation for the main entry [my favorite is tombstone inscriptions because I figure that the family would not pay a lot of money to have the family name mispelled for perpetuity]. The authority file can also list all the variants with SEE references pointing to the main entry [de Gruy, Jean Baptiste Antoine Valentin Verloin SEE deGruy, Antoine Valentin Verloin OR degruysverloin, Antoine Valentin SEE deGruy, Antoine Valentin Verloin]. Using an authority file is particularly useful when dealing with old New Orleans families because a person's name was frequently translated into Spanish by priests like Sedella when in fact the individual never personally used the Spanish form. I use a main entry form for personal names in my geneological program with added entries for all variant forms of the name listed within the person's file as aliases. It's also helpful to have the person's birth and death dates as a part of the main entry: deGruy, Antoine Valentin Verloin, 1718-1759. ~Bonnie -----Original Message----- From: DEGRUY-D-request@rootsweb.com [mailto:DEGRUY-D-request@rootsweb.com] Sent: Friday, May 20, 2005 4:00 PM To: DEGRUY-D@rootsweb.com Subject: DEGRUY-D Digest V05 #36