A very common punctuation error in genealogy is the use of the apostrophe followed by an 's' to create the plural of a surname. Exampled of that wrong usage follows: "There are seven Chadwick's on the census page." "Has anyone found obituaries for any Horner's in this county?" The error is becoming so common that it had me wondering if it was I who was doing it wrong. A little research had confirmed that an apostrophe should NOT be used to make the plural of a surname. Gardner's is incorrect as a plural, but correct to show possession (as in "Betty Gardner's pie was great."). The following plurals are correct. For most surnames, simply add an 's' to form the plural of it. Smith --> Smiths Bailey --> Baileys Gardner --> Gardners Van Woert --> Van Woerts However, if the name ends in an s, x, ch, sh, or a z, the plural is formed by adding an -es. Jones --> Joneses Maddox --> Maddoxes March --> Marches Rush --> Rushes Martinez --> Martinezes http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp See Rule 5. I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2010. Cliff Lamere

This retired English teacher thanks you!! It's a pet peeve of mine. Jane Schneeloch -----Original Message----- From: nyrensse-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:nyrensse-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Cliff Lamere Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 4:32 PM To: nyalbany@rootsweb.com; nycolumb@rootsweb.com; nyrensse@rootsweb.com Subject: [NYRENSSE] Plurals of surnames A very common punctuation error in genealogy is the use of the apostrophe followed by an 's' to create the plural of a surname. Exampled of that wrong usage follows: "There are seven Chadwick's on the census page." "Has anyone found obituaries for any Horner's in this county?" The error is becoming so common that it had me wondering if it was I who was doing it wrong. A little research had confirmed that an apostrophe should NOT be used to make the plural of a surname. Gardner's is incorrect as a plural, but correct to show possession (as in "Betty Gardner's pie was great."). The following plurals are correct. For most surnames, simply add an 's' to form the plural of it. Smith --> Smiths Bailey --> Baileys Gardner --> Gardners Van Woert --> Van Woerts However, if the name ends in an s, x, ch, sh, or a z, the plural is formed by adding an -es. Jones --> Joneses Maddox --> Maddoxes March --> Marches Rush --> Rushes Martinez --> Martinezes http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp See Rule 5. I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2010. Cliff Lamere ====NY-RENSSE Mailing List==== Check out the mailing list's website at: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYRensse/ Don't forget the Rensselaer County Message Board: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.re nsselaer/mb.ashx ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYRENSSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message