Correct Name Spelling Matters

Yes, it does when searching for family history. I have come across that during my research. The surnames are spelled differently.

I have been trying to find my mother's mother and my mother's mother's mother marriage records and on the 1900 census. I have some breakthrough on my grandma's marriage records. It was a name thing.

My Grandma was born Mary ALLEN according to her birth record. Her mother was Anna Laura WASHINGTON. She with by Laura in some records.

What a mystery that I came across on May 27, 2009. I discovered that marriage records for Missouri were online on ancestry.com. So I started searching for my ancestors.

I typed in their names. I had no luck. So I typed in the name Mary WALTERS. Walters was Grandma Anna Laura's last surname. She had a step daughter named Mary WALTERS. Yeah, two Mary's. There other an ALLEN.

After I made the discovery that my Grandma Mary ALLEN was believed married with the name Mary WALTERS. I notice when I saw her husband Leo's sure name was spelled incorrectly. It appeared to be LAUKFORD. As for the actually record, I saw it as LANKFORD.

Things matched up as I did some more searching. I asked my aunt who is my Grandma Mary's daughter. She said that WALTERS was a name. My mother told me that her mother went by WALTERS as times. My mother did not know way.

Here is what I assume through the research that I have been doing.

Mary ALLEN aka Mary WALTERS was born on 21 December 1889 in St. Joseph, MO to a William ALLEN of Georgetown MO and an Anna Laura WASHINGTON of St. Joseph MO.

Mary's father is unknown. There is no record of his death. Not much was spoken about him. I assume that he died when Mary was young.

I found a marriage record of a Mary WALTERS married to a Leo LAUFORD on 16th April 1909. That's about the year that they were married according to the 1910 census.

It's the record on the top right hand corner.

I found their surname as LANGFORD. It's them. Mary's mother's name was Leona Nathan with children Mary, and Joseph Nathan. It was a miss print on the records behalf in typing.

As for Anna Laura WASHINGTON ALLEN WALTERS is was remarried between 1890 - 1900. Her second husband was Thornton WALTERS. He later drowned in August of 1903.

I can assume that Anna help raised Thornton's children because they were on the 1910 census. Mary WALTER was a widowed. Joseph WALTER died in 1937. He was listed as Anna's son.

So I can assume that between 1901 - 1909 my Grandma Mary was raised as an WALTERS. Her mother carried the WALTERS surname.

At the time of Anna Laura WALTERS' death, she was listed with one child Mary who later passed in November of 1975. Anna had a step brother Townsend WYNN and a step sister Ella BUCKNER.

There was no mention of other children nor first marriage. Only the marriage of Thornton WALTERS was mentioned.

I am still searching for my Grandma Mary and her mother Laura Anna  on the 1900 census. It could be that their names were misspelled. Perhaps they could in another State.

Correct name spelling matter. What names we use does make a different. I notice in my research that some of my ancestors used their middle names.

May we learn to correct people when they spell our name wrong. It will help in the long ran. Future generations will appreciate the correct spelling. Besides they can locate what they are searching easier.

On The Journey...
Correct Name Spelling Matters

It brings a lot of stress when searching for ancestors.
But when things click, things are better.

The Chronicles of Susan