Most of my research is mediaeval. Legacy is the only program I have found that allows me to enter enough AKAs so that I have all the different names by which a person was called, along with the not so obvious spelling variations.
Yes, I have a long index, but I can easily discover whether the people mentioned in a document are in my database. Having all those AKAs means I can instantly know if the person mentioned in the Close Rolls, or the Testamenta, or whatever, is the one in my database. I also enter as AKAs the titles which people held. Many times documents mention the title but not the holder. Since I have, for instance, "Norfolk," I can easily see that, in 1484, the Duke of Norfolk was John Howard. I have him listed as Given Name = John, Surname = Howard, and as Given Name = 1st Duke, John Howard of, and Surname = Norfolk. French and English forms of names were used interchangeably then, so having AKAs is essential. Such as Aubigny = Albini = Daubeny = Daubeney. Thank heaven for Legacy, which you can use as you wish. CE -----Original Message----- From: Jerry [mailto:jerrysemailgro...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 11:42 AM To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] AKAs Thanks Ron. I agree with you (probably more than I disagree), but without some standardization, where would we be? We could not even get off first base, so there is a balance there. I just wish that the definitions for AKA, nicknames, spelling variations, etc., were just thought out better in the gedcom standards because, as you know, it becomes more difficult to do searches. Just my thoughts, --Jerry On 01/13/2012 02:13 PM, Ron Ferguson wrote: > Jerry, > > Not only may there be disagreement on what form any standardisation should > take, but also on the need for it in the first place! I often feel that > there is too much of it, I enjoy the flexibility of Legacy, and have no wish > to have to conform to a format laid down by others. Boring!! > > Diversity is what makes life interesting, just imagine standard newspaper > formats, and standardised websites. It may be said that we are losing our > own cultures to the 'tick-box' society, please don't let this virus take > over our individuality. Remember that standardisation almost inevitably > leads to the lowering of standards to the lowest common denominator. Now for > a decent *British* pint! > > Ron Ferguson > http://www.fergys.co.uk/ > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jerry > Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 6:49 PM > To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com > Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] AKAs > > Thanks - seems there are still so many "grey" areas - one could wish for > better standardization, but that would not make a lot of us happy if we > disagreed, so I guess we just continue doing what makes sense to > us. --Jerry > > On 01/13/2012 12:31 PM, Jenny M Benson wrote: >> On 13/01/2012 15:52, Jerry wrote: >>> What field do you think should be used for different spellings, if not >>> AKA? >> Well, it's not so much a case of what field *should* be as what field >> (if any) I or anyone else *chooses* to use! Personally, I don't use any >> field as such. >> >> Example. I have a family named Mathews, but quite often the name >> appears as Matthews. If Matthews appears in a Birth, Marriage or Death >> Index, for example, I will write Matthews as the Surname in the Source >> template. If Matthews appears on a Census my Event Description, where >> where I write all the info from the Census for each person, will show >> the Matthews spelling and in the Source I will write "household of ... >> Matthews" >> >> I use the AKA field only for cases where a person had an "official" >> name, but was also known by a different name, such a cousin of mine >> whose forenames were Horatio John but he was almost always called Peter, >> both within and without his family. I don't put nicknames or >> abbreviations in the AKA field, either. Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
