And my recently deceased Thomas Vanosdol B. spell the Van name that way even though his gr-grandfather spelled his surname.....VanArsdale. I like the explanation one of the Van gave........said the spelling was changed so the name could be pronounced. I had never thought about that reason.......but have often wondered how and why so many variations arose over time. And I, like other Vans or descendants of Vans, am attempting to put my complete family tree on the PC so that I won't keep having to refer to notes, censuses, rag-tag pieces of paper with jotting on the them. I wonder if our descendants will be as proud of all of us as I am proud to have some Van blood in me. What a wonderful group of God-fearing, stout of heart, determined, and yes, even illustrious notable achievers they were and still are. I am proud to be a part of this family. And thanks for a leader like Charles to help carry on the research and allow us all to be the lucky recipients of the research of those who preceded this generation and those who are still diligently searching and sharing. However you spell your Van.....no matter........we're all from the same great family! Lucy tiger@kopower.com ---------- > From: BStevens <BStevens@netstarcomm.net> > To: VanArsdale-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [VanArsdale-L] Van Arsdale spellings/ Vanosdol, Van Osdol > Date: Friday, January 14, 2000 8:06 PM > > ...And my Granny spelled it Vanosdol, while many of her cousins spelled it > Van Osdol, and a few went back and forth. I know that J Carden and I are > fairly close cousins, as the Vans go.... we both descend from the Jan > Simonse line (right? Or have I confused you with another?) But I know that > some of the Cornelius Simonse line also went to the Vanosdol spelling ... > both lines are found in southeastern Indiana, and both use Vanosdol and Van > Osdol. > > Bryce Stevens > > : My maiden name is spelled Van Osdol and Jeff and I are distant cousins. We > : both descend out of sons of Jacob Banta Van Osdol. He fought in the war of > : 1812 and he changed the spelling so it would be pronounced correctely. For > : the A in Dutch is pronounced like our O. I know of many Van Osdols. Glee > : Van Osdol Krapf > > > > ==== VanArsdale Mailing List ==== > Please LINK to this page from your own Web Site: <http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/VanArsdale>