This problem isn't confined to the Carpathian Mountains but is alive
and well in old records all around the world. You see it in English
Parish Registers. You even get variations in the same document for
the same person at one period as I understand it was a sign of
education to show that you could spell the same name various ways.
Which isn't at all helpful for us ;-)
I suspect we all handle this differently.
The convention is to use the birth name as the main name - the name
as recorded at baptism - although you may want to translate it out of
Latin into the language of the country.
I put the exact spelling in the source in the Source Details. I only
put major variants in AKAs. I tend to standardise the name in the
main name spot and have a note on the earliest of that line to
indicate the spelling variants - but I only have the slight variants
that you mention here.
Some have far more significant variations where to someone not
familiar with the research it would seem you are dealing with a
completely different family. It took my friend some time to convince
me that her MOWCOOMBERs and MALCOMBERs were the same family and these
were surname variants - amongst others. She'd get very lost if she
didn't put the variants for each person in the AKAs and use the name
as found in her earliest record for that person as the main name.
Cathy
At 08:05 AM 25/03/2008, you wrote:
Some of my ancestors came from the Lemko region of the Carpathian
Mountains in Austria Hungary, and were Greek Catholics ?
When reviewing the Church records (written Polish/Latin/Kinda of
Combinations of Something) Births, Deaths, Marriages for a period of
even 20 years, I might find 5 different spellings in the church
records for Surnames and Given names of the same individual (based
on recorded marriage and children's birth records, and then death records)
Ie Surname
Joannes Waranka
Joanes Warjanka
Joinnes Warianka
Jan Waryanka
Joannes Varanka
All same person.
How do others record variations, do you record every variation?
Then how do you decide what name to use as the primary?
In my family over the years some modern day branches have chosen all
5 different branches.
I'm now trying to figure out what name to use as the primary for ancestors.
Then when it comes to charting, It might be nice to include all AKAs.
Depending on what branch of the family tree I might be charting the
different branches might have one of the 5 variations, how would
one notate based on the Charts being printed.
When it comes to Charting depending on who wants what, the ability
to select from any AKA would be WONDERFUL, I currently do not know
of any Charting program that would allow me to change on the fly
depending on the Charts being created.
During some periods of time many ancestors could not read or write
themselves, Church records have spellings all over the place, some
not even close sometimes.
What's are your thoughts?
thanks,
john magyari
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