> > is there a way that I can work back from the name I have now to > > find what it was originally? > > Prior to civil registration in each state, people changed their > names "at will". There was no process or legal requirement to > register a name change. > > My G-Grandfather changed the spelling of his name from Sutherland to > Sutherlin and back again nearly yearly for a decade. He also > changed his residence frequently. Perhaps he was staying one step > ahead of the rent and/or bill collector. I dunno. His brothers, in > other states, did the same. They also lied about their dates of > birth. > > I think that in our pursuit of ancestors, we must always view > events from their time frame/perspective. Today, you would have a > hard time unilaterally changing your name. In the 19th century, > there was no impediment to that. > > Sandra <SGordon817@aol.com> i'm with sandra on this one...depends on the time period. and can be for any number of reasons....my great-great grandfather came to ny in the 1800's with documentation and a letter from the police "chief" in his hometown in germany (we still have this stuff), and lo and behold, when he got to ellis island, whoever filled out his forms just decided that his name was easier to pronouce if spelled another way and just changed it on the spot. if we didn't have those original documents, we'd be up a creek trying to go back to the german records.... if it's pretty recent, newspaper archives as well as court documents are useful. sometimes more so, if you get lucky with a state library like florida's or university libraries.... fsuedu@hotmail.com (fsuedu)