My grandmother's sister, born in CT. in 1894 to German parents, was told by her mother that when she went to get her birth certificate, she would "get a surprise". From her birth, she was called Susanna Josephine, but her birth certificate says Marion Dora (a name re-used from a sister who had died in infancy 9 years earlier). In practice, it may have been too painful for my great-grandparents to "call" this new child by the dead baby's name. However, I also wonder if something happened to my great-grandfather's sister in Germany (also named Susanna) at about this time, causing them to "re-name" the baby after her, without going through the formality of changing it at the courthouse. Sandy Repp Searching: ABELE, DEUBEL, BREHM, WILLIG in the Pfalz __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/