I have seen the same name spelled different ways in a document which was completely written by one person. Spelling was NOT important, so long as the party or parties involved understood what was meant. The same holds true with punctuation-it did not matter. Nancy Welty Ross ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 8:10 AM Subject: Re: [PABUCKS] Paxson NOTES ON WILLS AND DIFFERENT SPELLINGS OF ONES SURNAME: The following is taken from notes on my Paxson ancestors, namely Henry Paxson who married Jane Clarke. What was written applies to most early Wills as well as the various spellings of ones surname: QUOTE: Little is known of Henry and Joan, although much can be inferred from the copies of Wills and Parish records that exist for that period in which they lived. A Will contains names of heirs and will identify relationships. The quantity and kind of assets to distribute give some indication of the wealth of the individual. Parish records list birth dates, marriage and deaths, although thee may not always be accurate. Often Christening dates are confused with dates of death. Since some one else wrote both Wills and Parish records, the recorders may, AND OFTEN DID, use various spellings. And, often, individuals could not read or write so errors would go unnoticed,UNQUOTE. Even today there are people in every country who can not read or write. One only need to refer to Ellis Island to see ones surname(mis)spelled many different ways. My 5th GG Father who arrived in 1738 has his name spelled on the passenger list two different ways. Often the person writing the name on the passenger list spelled ones surname by sound, such as Wentsel, and Wetzel with the correct spelling WENTZELL. Hope this helps. John ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message