Tuesday Tip- Don't Overlook Name Variations

While I have been off the page completing some goals of mine around my home and with my genealogy, there has been some changes in the blogging world as well. Instead of one daily theme, now there are several for each day of the week, and their explanation is at Geneabloggers. I am sure in the coming weeks I will utilize several of them, but for today, writing about one of the items I keep in my research binder whether I am working at a repository or at home is the most appropriate.

I keep a list of all the surnames that play a role in my family in my binder in alphabetical order. I also write a brief note next to some of the surnames to remind myself of their place in my family. Believe it or not, once there are 1,000 people in your database, some names get lost in the confusion.

This may seem easy enough, but do not stop there. I include all the spelling variations that I have encountered over time for each surname as well. This I consider to be critical because it can become too easy to overlook an important record otherwise. Here are some of the examples for my ancestors:

Raley- Raily, Railey, Reily, Reilly, Ryley, Reyley, Reighley, Riley

Cozart- Cozad, Cossart, Cossairt, Cozort, Cassat

Cannan- Canan, Cannon, Canon

Eckardt- Ekert, Echardt, Eckart, Eckhart, Echart, Echert

McDonald- McDonell, McDonalds

Munsey- Munsy, Muncey, Muncy

Schnacke- Schnake, Shnacke

This is a very small list, but examples for some of my surnames,and the list grows on a regular basis, which keeps the detective in me on my toes.

Good hunting!

New Site For Maryland/Kentucky Cousins

I was very excited today to open my email and find that a new site has been developed for those of us who have Maryland ancestors that were part of the migration to Kentucky in 1785 and beyond.

Christopher and Leslie Hielig and Chug Roberts have launched http://www.md2ky.com/ and I have to say that I am very excited about the site already. They have sections for Books, Family Sites and Sources, Genral Genealogy Resources, and MD and KY Resources.

They have already posted some very interesting articles and always direct you to other sites for further information. Anyone with ancestors in Southern Maryland or were part of the migration to the Kentucky counties of Marion, Nelson and Washington should add this to their reader. They are also very open to adding information from those of who have information to share that would benefot all of us.

I for one am looking forward to future installments.