Scottish Ancestors

[gilmore]

...
(6) Thou shalt learn to sign all documents illegibly so that your surname can be spelled, or mis-spelled, in various ways: Hicks, Hick, Hix, Hixe, Hucks, Kicks, or Robinson, Robertson, Robison, Roberson, Robuson, Robson, Dobson.
...

Very often the records that you come across are not written by your ancestor but by clerks, especially court clerks here in the US, so what you see is how they spelled the name, not how your ancestor did.

Another important thing to remember is that the notion of correct spelling is relatively recent and did not exist before the early 19th century when dictionary usage became common. Before then everyone spelled words as they sounded to them. That was the way it had been done for millenia.

We have a photocopy of a deed from the 1750's in Virginia colony which was indexed under one spelling, contains a second spelling in the body of the deed, and my ancestor's signature was copied in a third spelling, the same spelling we use today, incidentally. Which was correct? All of them and none of them.

It could be worse. I am now researching a surname, Shofich, that seems to have been most commonly spelled Szyjowicz where it originated. One variation is Chwick. Another is Haifetz.

[McFarkus]

I was fortunate to be able to piggy-back on research done by various cousins on both sides of the family, and while there are a few brick walls, I have been able to trace the various lines back well beyond their arrival in the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries (there was one on the first boat to Jamestown in 1607, and several on the Mayflower).

A free site that I've found useful that gives you access to others research is www.rootsweb.com. Once you have put in your ancestor's name (I find it good to put in the next to oldest in the line) if there is a finding in Worldconnect, click on that. You can then narrow down the results using spouse name, parents, dates, etc. I've found this very useful in extending my tree.

[TheKiltedWonder]

I am now researching a surname, Shofich, that seems to have been most commonly spelled Szyjowicz where it originated. One variation is Chwick. Another is Haifetz.

Are you telling me that US county clerks weren't fluent in Polish? Shofich is a pretty good phonetic transcription. And I wouldn't be surprised if Haifetz were transcribed by a Yiddish/Hebrew speaker.

I think everyone here can attest to how lucky PandDnun was in taking her family back that far and having a little information about their lives as well. Beyond misspellings, alternate-spellings and overlooked information, you all have forgotten to mention the difficulty some have in reading old handwriting. I've seen some rather inventive interpretations of old German cursive (confusing a "J" for a "Y" and explaining that "Yohannes" was confused because of the way "J" is pronounced in German )

There are so many obstacles; that's what makes the chase so fun and the success mentioned here so refreshing and addicting and just plain great.

[Mael Coluim]

Wow that is exciting PNDN! I can only get back to two greats! But my Dad told me at an early age not to get interested in genealogy because I come from a long line of thieves and drunks!

[gilmore]

Wow that is exciting PNDN! I can only get back to two greats! But my Dad told me at an early age not to get interested in genealogy because I come from a long line of thieves and drunks!

The theives, drunks, rascals and ne'er-do-wells are usually much more interesting ancestors than the solid citizens from whom most of us descend.

Go for it.

[pipesndrumsnun]

...my Dad told me at an early age not to get interested in genealogy because I come from a long line of thieves and drunks!

Ahh, yes...that would be my dad's side of the family!!

[gilmore]

Are you telling me that US county clerks weren't fluent in Polish? Shofich is a pretty good phonetic transcription. And I wouldn't be surprised if Haifetz were transcribed by a Yiddish/Hebrew speaker.

...

Those were how the names has been transliterated by the holders of the names themselves, as well as others. Transliteration is so varied in Eastern European names, given several languages (Polish, German, Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, etc.) and three main alphabets (Roman, Cyrillic, Hebrew/Yiddish) plus others, that a Soundex system unique to that part of the world had to be developed.