I had a grandmother whose last name was Partridge. Her nickname was "Birdie" and it had nothing to do with her first name, which was Ethel, so you might want to consider that possibility. >>> jay_ingalls@pipeline.com 06/30/02 01:26PM >>> My grandmother Alberta was called "Bird" by my grandfather. Maybe partly because she loved to talk to people. And one great-uncle, named Adelbert at birth, was called Delbert and Bert. As usual, spelling is of minor importance in genealogy, but learning all the possible versions of a name is a big help in tracking people in the public and family records. Anyone that says their name was "always" spelled XXXX needs to take some genealogy classes! Jay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Norm and Miriam Midkiff" <kidmiff@juno.com> To: <MIGENESE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: 29 June, 2002 1:05 PM Subject: Re: [MIGENESE] Help me if you can...... > > I have one census that has a son > listed as Birdie. Who in the world would name a son Birdie? > > Birdie was an alternate spelling of the nickname "Bertie", which was > short for Albert, Hubert, etc. It was a common nickname of that era. > > Miriam Midkiff > Spokane, Washington