[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Name spelling

[Gary Tober]

Did anyone ever read anything by the US for ding fathers. These were erudite people of the 18th century, and the spelling varies throughout their writings. And so it is for our ancesrors, many of who were illiterate, so dependant on the clergy (hence the derivation from cleric, or clerk).
Take for instance my surname:Tober.It is of Swiss origin, and prehistoric there.Still, when my ancestors moved to Austria, became barons under Ferdinand Ist as High Chamberlain, chief Steward, and right-hand man, the spelling was Tobar. Why? Ferdinand was raised in Spain,  and spoke no German or Czech when he was elected as King of the Romans (basically Moravia and Bohemia). But TOBAR was a lower level noble family in Spain. PC all over again!The Spanish Hamburgs still claim my ancestors, which is hooey. My Ydna shows no Spanish or Portuguese.
Interesting also are the Wappen or shield designs in two old pubs. One shows the " ar" spelling, the other shows the "er".
The point is: we need to be very flexible about name spelling and not forget that the "call" name was usually a middle name among German folk. I cold cite many examples in my family, but will not bore you further!
Gary Tober


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