Hi Barbara, Hyphenated last names came into vogue among the upper classes. It was one way to retain a prominant surname on the maternal side. I am not sure when this started to occur but by 1900 it was occuring. Also middle names are rather recent. Again their use began among the upper classes and 'trickled down' so that today most of us have middle names. My personal experience with them is in Scotland, where certain lines of my father's family began to use them in the 1700s. Sure enough these appear to be middle class people, in the trades, with pretences of upward mobility. The great win is that they often used the mother's surname so you get a clue to her surname. More modern usage in the USA of course is not standard. My great grandmother's middle name was Grant but there is no Grant in any of our lines. I believe she was named after Ullyses S. >Hill Dickey married Elizabeth Millar in 1900. They >have a daughter Mary Sarah Dickey (haven't found her >baptism record yet) Check for the civil registration records. In 1900 all births in Ireland should be registered. Most likely most Protestant ones were. The indexes to these are filmed by LDS and often permanently in local centers. You can get a list of the film at www.rootsweb.com/~bifhsusa . They take a bit of learning to use like most things <grin>. Then you can order the film with the actual birth record. THis is preferable to ordering the birth certificate in Dublin for several reasons: 1. Cheaper and maybe faster. 2. In Dublin once one has found the entry in the index, one queues up and waits for the staff, always in very short supply, to go get the entry. They will select it and blank out all entries below and above it on the page. They will photography JUST the one entry and cut the piece of paper to a strip about 2 inches long and (eventually) give it to you. ON the other hand even if you must hire someone in Salt Lake or locally to get it, you get a roll of film for about $4.00 with many many births, perhaps a whole year. You can look for others, cousins, etc. You can see th e names of all the children being born in the parish. Perhaps you will recognise some of these as neighbors in the USA or where ever they moved. It is possible they have improved service in Dublin, but I have it from the professionals who research there that it is not good. Eh....I think that's all my reasons <grin>!!! The whole set of indexes is at the LDS Library in Los Angeles and most of them were at the center I used in Orange County. In locales with lots of Irish immigration, you may find that the film with the indexes is waiting for you already. who is married in 1928 (is a >spinster) and dies with her first child. The child is >named on his baptism record as Hill Dickey Williamson >Stewart. His father is William James Stewart and his >mother is now Mary Sarah Dickey Williamson. Hill >Dickey is not found signing the Ulster Covenant in >1912 ( 12 years after his marriage) BUT a Hill Dickey >Williamson is. Very interesting!! Maybe he did hyphenate it or just shifted his name. We aren't allowed to change our social security number at whim but even today we can change our name. It is possible that he legally changed it. By the 1900s you have various types of of records to research such as voting records. I'd consult eventually with a professional researcher who knows the period (20th century). Our expertise here is 18th century! >I realize I have to pin down a few more facts but I am >getting very fascinated with this family and if Hill >Dickey is later Hill Dickey Williamson then why the >name change????? That could be difficult to ever know unless he documented why he changed his name. Perhaps he was pissed off at his father. Perhaps he received an inheritance that required that he adopt the surname Williamson. Perhaps as heir to a Williamson he decided he wanted to do this. Again, there may be legal paperwork that is findable that will give you the answer to this question. The nobility and the gentry did take up different surnames to 'preserve' it. You can find plenty of evidence of that free at the PRONI website (is it www.proni.uk.gov??) where immense amounts of history of prominant families and their estates is posted. We eventually all should require information about the estate our ancestors lived on or owned as it is in the estate papers that information survives that is not in government records. IN any case they are fascinating reading. Best of luck!! Linda Merle ________________________________________________________________ Sent via the WebMail system at mail.fea.net