[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] surname variations

[Jerry Frank]

At 12:20 PM 05/06/2006, Ohgrmtns at aol.com wrote:
>I have come across various spelling of (P)Feifert from various sources. How
>am I to know which ones are true variations and which are just 
>missed spelling
>  on the part of the clergy or clerk that entered the information? Where else
>can  I go to determine this?
>Thanks.
>
>Kristen
>
>Researching : (P)FEIFERT, STIEBNER, NEUBERT,  KOCHAN
>Searching: Nedbajewka, Rohrbach(Berjozowka), Gruental, Kutuzowka,  Lublin



In past generations, the spelling of names was not deemed as 
important as it is now.  If you have a series of 6 baptisms in a 
family and the spelling is consistent for all but 1, you can probably 
make a good assumption about the "correct" (read "most common") 
spelling.  But in all cases, it is impossible to know for sure.  One 
simply has to be very aware of the options and follow the paper trail 
to or through them.



Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca