On Thu, 2006-03-02 at 03:31 -0500, D Michael Johnson wrote: > Note the difference in name spelling. > > Believe this is your Ward Penbroke Johnson with his father and mother; and > probably his grandmother living next door. > > 1850 District 39 1/2, Monroe County, Virginia > 229/229 > Caleb Johnston, 37, m, farmer, 7056, b Va > Louiza, 37, f, b Va > Pembroke, 10, m, b Va > Madona E., 8, f, b Va > Sarah R., 5, f, b Va > James W., 3, m, b Va > 230/230 > Catherine Johnston, 79, f, b Va > Sarah, 39, f, b Va > John W. Snapp, 21, m, laborer, b Va > > Cheers, Michael > Kent Island, Maryland > Don't hold the handwritten census entries to precise spelling. There's only one squiggle different between Penbroke and Pembroke and sometimes the handwriting wasn't all that clear. Besides in the 1800s spelling wasn't a universal skill to clerks and census takers didn't pause to ask, "How do you spell that?" they just wrote what they heard modifying it by their heritage. Things like the t in Johnston come from that along with seeing Johnsen, Jonsson and other variations. I'm studying an 1870 Madison County Missouri census from the earliest available microfilm and I see some names that could have 6 or 7 different spellings depending on how I interpret the generic squiggles. Transcribers tried to limit their interpretation to a single version and that's not always possible and I've detect that transcribers sometimes didn't type precisely either. So take transcriptions with a grain (or whole salt shaker) of salt and take name spellings as "sounded like" more often than spelled precisely. My gggp Noble Johnson could read and had a beautiful handwriting but when he was married the second time, the JP put Johnston on the marriage certificate. -- Dr. Gerald N. Johnson <[email protected]>