When a female marries, she usually got the surname of her husband. When she died, in German parish records, she is referred to by her maiden name. Her maiden name was usually also written on her tombstone.
When a male child is born out of wedlock, his surname is that of his mother, irrespective of who the father is. I presume that I record his surname as stated in the parish record.
Now his mother marries and the child is 'legalised'. He now gets a new surname, namely the one of the husband of his mother, and this irrespective of whether the husband of his mother is his genealogical father. The fact of his change of name is certainly an event in his life, and I record it as such. I don't like to change his original surname, would however like to see that he has changed his name at first glance.
To complicate matters further, his parents die and he gets adopted. I record this also as an event. He has a third surname now.
Visitors of my tree often notify me that my tree is incorrect, because "Maidenname" was born but "Adoptedname" or "Legalisedname" died, that this is not the same person and that this is a mistake in my tree.
How to i record the name in a way that a superficial visitor understands the facts?
