I find it very helpful to include a name with the "UNKNOWN". Otherwise I
have a whole bunch of UNKNOWNS in my index, and makes it hard to know who I
want. But if I include part of the spouse's name, it becomes obvious who's
who.
I like hearing about all the various different methods folks use for unknown
names. I haven't been fully happy w my method - now I have a bunch of new
ones to try.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jenny M Benson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <LegacyUserGroup@LegacyFamilyTree.com>
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 6:25 AM
Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Unknown names, methods of invention
Meg Greenwood wrote
Didn't fall for the UNK surname, but did look for several years for a ship
from Halifax, Nova Scotia into the US called the G. T. Ry. My ancestor
came into the US "aboard" the G. T. Ry according to immigration documents.
Family history even said he'd come in on a ship. Took a few years to find
it on his Crossing Card into the US....the Grand Trunk Railway.
If I don't have a spouse for Peter SMITH, but I know there was one, I
invent a new surname called SMITHwife. Her given name would be the name I
have for her [Ann, Mary, etc] if she has no name yet, she gets the
husband's given name in this case, its Peter [but I like your method of
naming her Wife of Peter if this will be accepted with the spaces]. Now
in the Index listings right after the SMITHs, are the SMITHWIFEs. Having
a male name in a female slot catches my attention as does the appended
syllable WIFE which I've not yet seen on a legitimate surname. Notes
explains what I've done as the very first sentence.
I don't see how using SMITHWIFE or any other made-up term is preferable t
using UNKNOWN. Perhaps it is possible that somewhere in the world there
are or have been people with the surname Unknown, but in general terms I
think everyone's first thought on seeing that would be "Oh, this person's
name is not known." Not have I ever come across anyone with the surname
Smithwife, but if I came across it in a genealogy report I might well
conclude that it was a valid surname. After all, even though you could
not find a ship called G T Ry you still believed that there had been one.
This last is another good example of why abbreviations should not be used
in your family file, as you can never be sure what assumptions will be
made by other people. (The same goes for not including Country in
locations.) I myself was guilty of using the abbreviation RD for
Registration District, but other people pointed out to me that this could
be misinterpreted so I have replaced all the RDs with Registration
District now.
--
Jenny M Benson
Legacy User Group guidelines:
http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp
Archived messages:
http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/
Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp
To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Legacy User Group guidelines:
http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp
Archived messages:
http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/
Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp
To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
