Good morning! Regarding the variations of the spelling of the name. The following is an explanation by Gerald Van Sise Raynor, Raynor Family Genealogist (Edward Raynor Branch), as to the various spellings of the name: "Do not put much stock into signature spelling variations. I have many old documents from 1761 – 1825, etc. In the same family, you might find RANER, RYENER, REYNOR, and RAINER. If the signer could not write his name, then the scribe used his own judgment. I've even seen RHEGNIER". Robert, our first known family member signed his will REYNERE. That is the only time I have ever seen an "e" on the end. "In general, though, RAINER and REYNER show up in early documents. By the time the Revolutionary War was over the spelling that was most often used was RAYNOR or sometimes RAYNER." ====================================================== I have tried to convince RootsWeb to combine the different spellings of this name into one list, but apparently there is disagreement as to the "Correct" way to spell our surname and since no one will agree, they intend to keep the lists separate. My best advice would be to join all of the variant lists, since I cannot combine them. Hope this helps, Karima mailto:quest@springnet1.com =========================================== THE RAYNOR FAMILY WEB SITE http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/Raynor.htm List Administrator of: RAYNOR Surname Discussion List (RAYNOR-L http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/RaynorListWelcome.htm GRAMMER Surname Discussion List (GRAMMER-L) http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/GrammerMailingListWelcome.htm Jackson County, Illinois Discussion List (ILJACKSO-L) http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/JacksonCoWelcome.htm