what's in a name?

 Continuing from my last blog about the person who messaged me on Ancestry asking about family connections.

My grandfather spelt his surname as “Werrett”. His grandfather’s birth, death and marriage certificates all spell the name that way.

The person who contacted me via Ancestry spelt her name “Whereatt”, and all the members of the family in her line, spell it that way.  Her relation was a brother of my great, great grandfather “Werrett”.

So when did the name change, and how? In short, I don’t know. On all the official records for the “Whereatt” person who contacted me, the spelling is “Werrett”.

How does the spelling change? Often because someone is giving their personal details to a person in authority, and they are either illiterate and can’t spell their name, or accents cause confusion.

Another example: my great grandmother’s maiden name was McBeath, but her father’s name was McBeth.  All of her siblings names were spelt the same as hers. Sometime between her parents’ marriage and the birth of their children, the father added an “a” to his surname. However, he is buried as McBeth.

 My maiden name is McCulley – which used to be McCullough. (Funny that Colleen McCullough is an idol of mine.)  When did the name change? Apparently some falling out between family members.

 So, when you are researching your family tree, don’t discount people you think might be connected, because the spelling of their name throws you out.