In message <51b480c1$0$15966$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl>, Lesley Robertson <l.a.robertson@tnw.tudelft.nl> writes: >"Kiwi in Aus" wrote in message >news:KOOdnXnM3a69RjfMnZ2dnVY3go-dnZ2d@giganews.com... > >How do others deal with this, you might start off with a place that is >in >Essex at time of birth, but by the time a person dies same place is now >called Greater London, or South eastern Essex or what ever do you stay >with >same place name or change with the passing time, I guess change with >time is >more correct, > As others have clarified, it depends what the purpose of recording the place is. I tend to agree with those who say record the placename as it was at the event in question; however, it's a good point that records will be now archived (or whatever) under the current name. (I also like to make lists of the places associated with my people, and to have all the people/events for a particular location listed together, which doesn't happen if I use the original names/counties.) The placenames themselves change as well as the counties: where it comes to punctuation (e. g. whether it's one word, hyphenated, or two words), then this can be so well under a century, with actual spelling variations not much before that, until eventually you get back to a point where there is no such thing as a "correct" form. Abroad, it's much more varied: Aix-la-Chapelle is now Aachen, for example, and there's the (almost certainly apocryphal) tale of the Russian grandfather, Polish father, and German son (I think I've got those the right way round), all of whom were born in the same house. (It is certainly true that there are places which Poland has passed through on its travels.) -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf Can you open your mind without it falling out?

On 09/06/2013 22:35, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote: > The placenames themselves change as well as the counties: where it comes > to punctuation (e. g. whether it's one word, hyphenated, or two words), > then this can be so well under a century, with actual spelling > variations not much before that, until eventually you get back to a > point where there is no such thing as a "correct" form. > > Abroad, it's much more varied: Aix-la-Chapelle is now Aachen, for > example, It was Aachen first. Locally, I guess, it always has been. The "French" image is from common mistaken belief that Charlemagne was culturally and linguistically French, and from later invasion by Napoleon. and there's the (almost certainly apocryphal) tale of the > Russian grandfather, Polish father, and German son (I think I've got > those the right way round), all of whom were born in the same house. (It > is certainly true that there are places which Poland has passed through > on its travels.) I sounds credible to me, given the history of wars, power struggles and border changes in Europe. And not only abroad! Alfred Russel Wallace was born in Monmouthshire, then England <ducks>, of English parents but is now claimed as a Welsh hero. -- Phil C.