I have had a big problem with middle initials in my searching too, and even problems when both names were known. Sometimes they are on the census by the middle name, sometimes by the first, until now I don't really know what was the first or the middle!! Now where my Mother was born in OK, you knew everyone's middle name because when the mother was mad she called you by your 1st & middle names. My mother carried that on & I have too. When my kids heard me call them by both names, oh they knew they were in trouble!!