Author Topic: surmane quandary.  (Read 804 times)

Offline mickmack1942

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surmane quandary.
« on: Sunday 29 August 21 12:45 BST (UK) »
     I have been cleaning my ancestry surmane list and came across the family name
     Trusler and Trussler that has been recorded, the clergy has written both in the
     course of BMD's even for the same family, upto date they are both recorded in
     the civil reg index, there seems to be just as many with one S as against SS, any
     way to keep things tidy what would one suggest to use, or am I just being picky
     unnecessarily, just take one spelling and run with that....
     
     Foot note..
     may be only the first name, date, and location of event is most important...
     
       
     
Pringle..N-yorks.  Swann..Nthamptonshire. Newman..Wilts.  Whites...Surrey/london.  Filce..London/surrey.  McCarthy...Co Cork Eire.
Atkinson...N-Yorks.    Irvine... Sothern England
Cook...glouc/shire.    Alderton... Thingoe/Suffolk

Offline Kiltpin

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #1 on: Sunday 29 August 21 13:38 BST (UK) »
Scotland's People indexes different spellings differently. Half of my wife's tree come from Scotland. For the most part they are MacLeods. But they are also M'Leods, or M'cLeods, or MaCleod. Each spelling has to be searched separately.

If you do a fuzzy search you will end up with Truscots as well. I would record each one as it was spelled. 

Regards 

Chas
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Offline KGarrad

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 29 August 21 13:58 BST (UK) »
Please remember - spelling was an art-form; not a science! ;D ;D

On the Isle of Man, the "M" or Mc" was dropped - so many Manx surnames begin with "C", "K" or "Q" ;)
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline mickmack1942

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 29 August 21 15:05 BST (UK) »

    Hi.  I see your points but also the ancestry researching for distant family relatives
     is not a legal requirment, so precise recording would not be required, like if looking
     close family where the name probably had to be tight, so like Mr Trusler/or and or Mr
     Trussler would probably have to be required,
         In the past the oddity of clergy spelling due to writing what they hear, as against
     the family only knowing what there name sounded like with local dialect, so one BP is with
     'SS' and the next family member recorded is with a single 'S ' does it matter in family
      history that far back were this family is 1700/50 , some thing to mull over possibly...
Pringle..N-yorks.  Swann..Nthamptonshire. Newman..Wilts.  Whites...Surrey/london.  Filce..London/surrey.  McCarthy...Co Cork Eire.
Atkinson...N-Yorks.    Irvine... Sothern England
Cook...glouc/shire.    Alderton... Thingoe/Suffolk


Offline pharmaT

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 29 August 21 15:17 BST (UK) »

    Hi.  I see your points but also the ancestry researching for distant family relatives
     is not a legal requirment, so precise recording would not be required, like if looking
     close family where the name probably had to be tight, so like Mr Trusler/or and or Mr
     Trussler would probably have to be required,
         In the past the oddity of clergy spelling due to writing what they hear, as against
     the family only knowing what there name sounded like with local dialect, so one BP is with
     'SS' and the next family member recorded is with a single 'S ' does it matter in family
      history that far back were this family is 1700/50 , some thing to mull over possibly...

Not necessarily, I have a marriage certificate where the groom's surname was spelt 5 different ways.
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Offline mickmack1942

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 29 August 21 15:53 BST (UK) »

        I concur with that issue of the spelling i also have that especially way back in the past,
       not only with the spelling its the appalling hand writing even with a quill feather for a
       pen, and when the PR is closed with wet ink still on the page the mess is aw full, the name
       is just a blob of ink, the photography of the old records in not helping, but from my
       ancestry records I will simplify thing by using two SS's , thank to all for the help..
Pringle..N-yorks.  Swann..Nthamptonshire. Newman..Wilts.  Whites...Surrey/london.  Filce..London/surrey.  McCarthy...Co Cork Eire.
Atkinson...N-Yorks.    Irvine... Sothern England
Cook...glouc/shire.    Alderton... Thingoe/Suffolk

Offline Maiden Stone

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #6 on: Monday 30 August 21 17:05 BST (UK) »
Please remember - spelling was an art-form; not a science! ;D ;D


Ironically, the title of this thread contains a typo. It's one I frequently make on here. :)
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Offline Just Kia

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #7 on: Monday 30 August 21 19:12 BST (UK) »
If you wish to "standardise" the spelling within your tree I would suggest that you note on each record the spelling that was used if it differs from your chosen spelling.
So you may choose to index everyone as Trussler but on an individual's records you might note that at baptism they were recorded as "Trusler" and at marriage they were recorded as "Trusslor".
That way if any issues arise in the future you can see where any discrepancies are.
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Offline Andrew Tarr

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Re: surmane quandary.
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 31 August 21 09:41 BST (UK) »
Please remember - spelling was an art-form; not a science!

It is a mistake to imagine that there is one 'correct' spelling for a surname - or any other name for that matter.  Everyday spellings only settled down after dictionaries were compiled (late C18?) and education slowly spread during C19.  By then families had chosen, or been shown by clerics, what their surnames should look like, and they became attached to them like a badge.

Some variants diverged so far that it can be difficult to persuade their owners of a common ancestry.  Some examples that spring to mind are Birkinshaw, Smirthwaite and Wolstenholme (Yorkshire): an MP has settled on Brokenshire (!), a businessman on Smurfit, and the golfer on Woosnam.

So you can suit yourself which version to choose; maybe best pick the one that occurs most often.
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