> > As to the spelling of Friendl, or Friendel or Friedl...the same as > Kreckel, Kreckle, Kreakel and Krickel and other various spellings of the > same name: you just have to take all the records and find the common > threads that tie the family together. Well to date I have not found that the Friendl/Friedl family share any connection at all. Of course I may discover something different in the future, but it appears to be a separate and distinct surname despite sounding very much alike. But who knows? Although one may very often find out differently, I have learned that it is not a good idea to assume that a family with a similarly spelled surname, or even the SAME surname, living in the same area is related. I learned this through a very painful and humbling experience from a few years ago. I was hired to do research by a man in Texas on the surname Harvey, specifically an Isaac Harvey, in Fox Twp., Elk Co., PA. I had the church records from the Elkton Presbyterian church, and knew that the Harveys of Kersey attended that church. Isaac Harvey, a member of the Elkton Presbyterian church, was born in 1843, and John Harvey, another prominent member of the church was born in 1838. I, quite naturally, assumed that they were brothers and proceded to the Elk County courthouse under that assumption. I even bet the man I was doing the research for that I would find that they were brothers. They attended the same church, Isaac is buried in the Earleyville Cemetery and John is buried in the Elkton Cemetery-- both cemeteries are associated with the Elkton Presbyterian Church. What would you think? Boy was I wrong. It turns out that John Harvey immigrated from Ireland and Isaac Harvey immigrated from England. Isaac Harvey was the son of a George and Mary Harvey, both from Scotland. Despite having the SAME last name, there was no apparent connection between the two Harvey families living in Kersey at that time. There may have been a familial connection at some point way back in the past, but it was WAY past the time frame that I was working in. I was SO embarrassed to tell the man that he was right-- that there was no connection between the Harvey families despite my confident boasting. My face still gets red when I think about it. :-) As a result, I don't make assumptions like that when I do research. If the connections are there, they will be readily apparent. If they are NOT there, one cannot assume that there is a connection.