The first one you listed is the one that mentions that the Inspectors
would make changes of what they perceived to be errors. You've made my
point.
The others you listed are articles by people who have made the same
assumptions you made. I have interviewed people who came through Ellis
Island who have told me these stories. One Carlo Pietropinto, who had
his name changed by one of the inspectors whose assumed that his named
was really Carlos Pietro Pinto. His family in Italy is known as
Pietropinto. His family here in the US is known as Pinto. Clearly
(because he told me) not his choice.
I can also point to a family (I interviewed them personally) who came
through EI. There names where Salvatore, Nicola, Antonetta,
Pasqualina. The inspectors tried to encourage them to change there
names to Samuel, Ncholas, Anna, and Pauline. They refused.
These this did indeed go on. I'm not sure why so many people suspend
belief in facts and refuse to believe that people at Ellis Island could
possibly make mistakes. It is very important in the Genealogy world
that we not rule out such possibilities, and understand that the
surnames they are looking for could have been changed at Ellis Island.
Encourage them to look at that possibility and think maybe they should
look for different surnames than the ones they are hitting roadblocks on.
You can point to all the blogs you want, but I will take it from those
who were there, and saw this first hand, and told me with their own tongues.
I mean no disrespect. I just think that trying to deny that this
actually happened can discourage people from doing a more creative
search to find ancestors that they might not otherwise find.
Christopher
On 11/23/2019 3:16 PM, Laura Johnson wrote:
the so called ledgers were the ships manifests - those were done at
the port of departure.
Here are a few good articles to let you know what really happened
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-did-ellis-island-officials-really-change-names-immigrants-180961544/
https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/88_donna.html
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/07/02/name-changes-ellis-island
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/04/29/ellis-island-names/
On 11/23/2019 3:06 PM, Christopher Seward Sr. wrote:
Marie,
I would disagree with that first statement. In my years of doing
research, I have heard stories where the workers at Ellis Island
entered names into the ledgers incorrectly. If they were unable to
discern the name from the ships manifest, they would of write down
the names as THEY understood the passengers. I have examples in my
own family where a Braun from Prussia was listed as Brown because the
person at intake determined that the immigrant should "Americanize"
their name.
As for the second part of your statement...I agree. I do believe
that the AKA field i the best place to notate that.
Ciao,
Christopher
On 11/23/2019 2:56 PM, mvmcgrs--- via LegacyUserGroup wrote:
First, the name was not changed at Ellis Island. The manifests were
made in the country that they departed from. They probably made the
change themselves to make the name easier to pronounce and spell.
They may have done it legally, [through the courts] but more likely
they just started to use the new spelling.
I'm using Legacy 8 and there is an AKA (4th logo from the right) it
looks like a group of people. You can add the name that they used in
Italy or the one used in the US, your choice. You can cite the
source (census, birth record, marriage record, etc) for each
individual time you find the name. Then use the other name in database.
Marie
Marie Varrelman Melchiori, Certified Genealogist Emeritus
______________________________ ______________________________ __
CG or Certified Genealogist is a service mark of the Board for
Certification of Genealogists, used under license by Board-certified
genealogists after periodic competency evaluation, and the board
name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.
In a message dated 11/23/2019 2:53:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,
cathyv...@cox.net writes:
My great grandfather had the surname Vallevegni in Italy.
When the family immigrated to the U.S. it changed to Vallevieni
which
they used from then on (probably changed at Ellis Island).
How should I enter 2 surnames in Legayc?
-- Cathy Vallevieni
714 389-6374 Home
714 227-4948 Cell
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