Good names versus lousy name searches

[v.wells]

I ran across this most wonderful name on another thread "Cecil A UMPLEBY", and I thought what a horrible but lovely name to have and to search for! I get head aches searching for my lot of Wells, Stuart and Walsh's! And to top it off they all seem to have the same first names, Robert, Thomas, William, Albert, Elizabeth and Eliza's. I know I am not alone out there, as I read almost all of the posts and do try to help where I can - often to no avail! Common names a the bane for genealogists such as we.

[Davran]

There is a down side to unusual names in that people often didn't know how to spell it and don't recognise the combination of letters when transcribing. At the moment I am looking for ARNISON, which can be spelt umpteen different ways. Also if you have a name beginning with S or L they are often transposed in transcription. But it is fun to have something less boring to work with and when you do find the entry you are usually absolutely sure it's the person you are looking for.

[janiegirl]

Couldn't agree more. I have a SMITH in my family tree and have not gone near that name yet.

Isn't it strange though that some names that you don't think of as common, once you try to search for them you find that they are. In my case his has been true of MORRISSON and MOFFAT in the areas I am looking at.

It is |banghead|'s like those that make life interesting!

Janiegirl

[SBSFamilyhistory]

I have Smith's in my family, back several generations, and oddly enough I found them easier to find than some of the more unusual names, as there have been fewer spelling mistakes over the years, unlike some of the other less common names.

[Patrisia]

Agree!
Smith doesn't get messed around and when you are Gabriel Smith, as I have just transcribed in Smalley bapt on 12 April 1635, you can't go far wrong ;)

[Barnzzz]

Sometimes the common names aren't so bad. We had Foords and they were easy, but then I found I'd made a terrible mistake and followed the wrong branch, I should have been looking for Fords all along. After a slow start they were quite easy !

Sue

[Jan1954]

Agree!
Smith doesn't get messed around and when you are Gabriel Smith, as I have just transcribed in Smalley bapt on 12 April 1635, you can't go far wrong ;)

Or, as amongst my John Smiths, a delightful chap called Pharaoh!

[Peter_uk_can]

On my wife's maternal side, who come from Norway, we have the surname "FROM". This confuses the *&*(& ! out of the search engines.

We also have "Harsvog" who sometimes go by the name "Carlson - Carlesonn - Carlesson" etc... now and again they also used the name "From".

I have been confiused since the first day I saw this and am pleased to remain blissfully ignorant in all matters of the research.


Other members of the aforesaid family have tried to unravel it, but I am not sure if they have it right... I have so many balls in the air already I am leaving this one |doh| to others...

[Sandra Parker]

I have Please in my family, great fun when you try searching forums. You don't realise how polite people are on forums such as this!
Sandra |laugh1||laugh1||laugh1|
A very Happy and Successful Search New Year to all!|woohoo||woohoo|

[Davran]

I know the feeling, Sandra. My mother-in-law's ancestors were SAW. You think you've made a hit and then realise it's only the verb in a sentence!

[janbooth]

Or amongst my search for John SMITH, son of John, son of John, a Pheasant SMITH son of Thomas SMITH!!

Janet

[BeeE586]

I was rather aimlessly searching for one of my names - SIDDALL - the other day in counties other than Derbyshire and in 1881 in Stockport I found a James and Elizabeth with a 19 year old daughter named Umbarozine. I checked the original, found this seemed to be a correct transcription and then looked at 1871 for a 9 year old. Found the family but no name resembling this, nor did a search for Umbarozine reveal this child.

It is not important to me as I doubt they are connected, but purely out of interest, can anyone suggest what this name might be and has anyone come across it before ?

Eileen

[Pam Downes]

Hi Eileen,
Can you give the ref for the 1871 census please? I have a sort-of theory, and being able to find the family on earlier census may help prove (or disprove!) it. I have looked, but can't seem to find a family to fit precisely.
Pam

[Ken Boyce]

On my wife's maternal side, who come from Norway, we have the surname "FROM". This confuses the *&*(& ! out of the search engines.

We also have "Harsvog" who sometimes go by the name "Carlson - Carlesonn - Carlesson" etc... now and again they also used the name "From".

I have been confiused since the first day I saw this and am pleased to remain blissfully ignorant in all matters of the research.


Other members of the aforesaid family have tried to unravel it, but I am not sure if they have it right... I have so many balls in the air already I am leaving this one |doh| to others...

Hi Peter
I worked with Norwegians on a large undersea project and spent many months in Norway. On asking the question (over beer with sausage and potatoe) why some of them had such complex and sometimes long names (which I could never spell or pronounce correctly) I was informed that it was common for a surname to be the place that they were from

Such as Peter Fromwindywinnipeg (only in Norwegian of course with funny Os and lots of dots)

Regards

[BeeE586]

Pam - would you belive it ? I can't find the 1871 entry again !!!!

It was the only James I found married to Elizabeth (although he may have had a different partner in '71 from '81), but the ages were a year or two off and different occupation.

The reference in '81 was RG11 3482/43 Page 30.

Thank you for taking an interest - Umbarozine was a name I had never come across before and bore no resemblance to any name I knew either.

Eileen

[Pam Downes]

Eileen, if you found James with a different occupation you probably found the same one I did, though the birthplaces didn't match. Found the 1871 one in 1861 with another occupation, but have been unable to find a Francis which has thrown me, because I thought he would stand out..
If you can remember which 'other day' you were aimlessly searching on, try going to 'history' on your 'puter. With IE I got the main site and then 'sub pages' but I've now got Firefox and it says '1861 England census ...co.uk', '1871 England census...' etc right at the top of the page. :)
My 1871 ref RG10/3661 f95 p25
and 1861 ref RG9/2556 f78 p26
Meanwhile I'll start typing up my theory whilst keeping an eye open for your reply.
Pam

[Lindad]

I have Please in my family, great fun when you try searching forums. You don't realise how polite people are on forums such as this!



Hmmm... sounds like you have the same kind of problems I have when helping a friend with his JEALOUS family! I thought that name would be a doddle... but how wrong can one be?!

On the other hand, helping another friend with her BROWN family was a piece of cake!

[suedent]

Does anybody else find that when you come across what you think is an unusual Christian name, the next thing you know, every family in the Parish thinks "oh that's nice" and the name pops up everywhere.

Or is it just people in my Parishes that do that?

[Pam Downes]

Hi Eileen,
My (ahem) theory is based on the entry on RG11/3220 f 111 p 18, and a young lady with the very unusual name of Hovenn M Goose.
Now look at the 1891 census, RG12/2518 f 81 p 8, and view the image for John Baumber. (No scrolling down for other names on the page either!)
See how easy is it to invent a name, even when the writing is of a fairly good standard?
I similarly surmise that Umbarozine is a complete figment of the enumerator's imagination. I was trying to make it Eliza at the end, but I now think that the 'zine' might be Jane.
I've looked on FreeBMD for Siddell plus most variants (one l, one d, a instead of e, y instead of i) that I can think of in Bolton reg district 1861-1864, but all I can find is Mary Jane Syddall in June 1861. Other combinations I've seen for Lancashire/Cheshire districts are Sarah Jane, Clara Jane, and Martha Jane.
The James and Elizabeth I found on the 1871 had a Jane Eliza, but her age and birthplace are wrong, and I think it's the wrong James anyway.
End of theory. :)
Pam

[Jan1954]

Does anybody else find that when you come across what you think is an unusual Christian name, the next thing you know, every family in the Parish thinks "oh that's nice" and the name pops up everywhere.

Or is it just people in my Parishes that do that?

I have an ancester who rejoices in the name of HAPPY SABINA BAILEY. "Oh, what an unusual name," I thought. Threw "Happy" into the census search - there are thousands of them! :o

[SBSFamilyhistory]

I know of lots of unusual kids names including one poor kid called Princess Diana, now that's what I call sad.

[BeeE586]

Pam - thank you. I shall be watching Prime Suspect later on, will print off your references and think about the problem during the breaks. I have a database of SIDDALL running to many hundreds of names - there are the variations you mention plus SIDDLE SIDLE SEIDEL SYDEL and even SIDDON in places. The name is common in the Eyam/Baslow/Stony Middleton area in the 1600's, in Dronfield in the 1500's and in Chesterfield/Whittington/Staveley in the 1700's and 1800's which is where my lot turn up with the biggest brick wall you can imagine!!!!!

Suedent - I was looking at the name ASPLAND in the LIN Boston area and found a Tunnard Aspland. Then various other families with a child of that name. There is even a Tunnard Street in Boston and I was told it is still in use today. I did research the DIMBERLINE tribe in South Yorkshire for a time and Easter Easter was found in most generations although I have not come across that anywhere else.

Eileen

[suedent]

You forgot to mention the LIDDALL/LIDDLE entries.

You have my sympathies, my husband's family in Sunderland had connections with a SIDDLE family. A vicar's lousy writing, combined with the fact that there were genuine LIDDLEs around, nearly drove me to distraction.

[daleaway]

Eileen, I think your Umbarozine may be Ambrosine, but the recorder heard it said with a local accent. My Cordelia in Cornwall was regularly recorded as Cardelia for the same reason.

Try having "Key" as a family name - search engines basically tell you to go away. And there are those other engines that when I put another family name, "Mart" (surname), into, give me every Martin and Martha ever christened!

[June Barber]

My Smith's are distinguished by their unsual Middle names

THOMAS McRobert Smith
Rachel Ellison
Douglas Campbell
Richard Pooley
Louis Harrington
Fredrick Smart
David Powell Moore
Frank Sprot Tait
George Manners
Arthur Cranley

If anyone recognises any of these Smith's let me know.

[BeeE586]

re Ambrosine - I thought about this and searched but no joy for any possible variation of Siddall, including Sid*l and Sed*l. I must say that I am pleased it is not my line or I would have yet another brick wall.

Pam - I looked at your references and gave up as a bad job, it is a very tangled web and makes me wonder just how much we can believe any census. I have a Mary Jane in 1861 who by 1871 has become Caroline - both perfectly clear on the original - and a family who change from Anderson to Andrews and then back to Anderson.

Thank you all for your interest.

Eileen

PS can anyone find me the birth of Aimiable Robinson in the Laneham/Dunham area of Notts. circa 1725 ?

[Pam Downes]

Hi Eileen,
Wondered where you where. I thought the Ambrosina was a brilliant idea, but thought I'd let you comment first, though I did look and found nothing positive with regard to Siddall + variants.

The good news is that I have been spurred on to tacke -and finally crack - the mystery of Abiathia Taylor on the 1881, brother to my great granny. He's registered as George Abiatha on FreeBMD (|hug| to all FreeBMD transcribers), Abiether on the 1891 census and George on the 1901 census.
Don't have a clue where his unusual name came from, unless it was the name of a ship/boat his father sailed in/on. :eek:
Pam

[suedent]

Eileen, I think your Umbarozine may be Ambrosine, but the recorder heard it said with a local accent. My Cordelia in Cornwall was regularly recorded as Cardelia for the same reason.

Try having "Key" as a family name - search engines basically tell you to go away. And there are those other engines that when I put another family name, "Mart" (surname), into, give me every Martin and Martha ever christened!

I sympathize, I have several Cornish Cordelias; Cadelia seems to be another favourite amongst enumerators.

I have MAY amongst my families, they can be a fun one to try & Google!!! Even searching a database is a nightmare as you get hits for everyone born in the 5th month.

One of my puzzles at the moment is Marsena ROGERS, his birth appears on freeBMD as Marsons. Apart from a birth entry in 1872 & an appearance in the 1881 census there is no trace of him, no death/marriage entry in the GRO index. I managed to track a couple of his brothers down to the USA but no sign of Marsena/Marsons. His second name isn't much help, it was Absalom after his father. That has a whole range of variations of it's own!

[Geoffers]

Don't have a clue where his unusual name came from, unless it was the name of a ship/boat his father sailed in/on.

Have a look for Abiatha on asearch engine and there are a couple of hits from baby's name web-sites. Do people actually use them to think of names for children?

With regard to unusual names, I always feel sorry for those with the surname Quelch, whose parents gave them a forename with the initial S
There are loads of them in the 1881 census.

There's even an unfortunate Sarah who married a chap called QUASH. But I suppose it sort of fits in with the weather.

[bobs]

i have been looking for an aunt for a few years whose maiden name was Asa
Pabjoy i have found her marriage to an uncle but before that she disappears and i have never found another person with the same surname it is so frustrating she just materialised out of no-where |banghead|

[suedent]

i have been looking for an aunt for a few years whose maiden name was Asa
Pabjoy i have found her marriage to an uncle but before that she disappears and i have never found another person with the same surname it is so frustrating she just materialised out of no-where |banghead|

Have you tried looking for Pobjoy? Not hugely common but enough to give you a fighting chance of finding her.

[David Annis]

I'm new to all this but what I have learnt so far is the mix and match of christian names. Which Thomas or James, Ann or Elizabeth am I looking at now.
Then if there are two christian names they have rung the changes by putting in combinations or reversing. Not a kylie or a Jason anywhere. Then there are the variations of the spelling of the surname. I'm just surfing around picking up whatever I can for free at the mo till I find my feet.
I'm looking for Annis and you get Innis Ennis Anis Hannis Annie which muddies things. On top of which and I never knew that Annis was a female christan name or that the word Annis was latin for something or other. Sure enough the web finds all these for me and more.
I always thought the name was uncommon, wrong, common as muck, we could populate a bannana republic. As for any blue blood forget it, all grimy red stuff and chapped hands. So thats the House of Lords out of the window.
Oh well back to which Thomas are you then.
Cheers. Dave

[LifesGood]

Dave said : I'm looking for Annis and you get Innis Ennis Anis Hannis Annie which muddies things.

I've come across Annis as well, however she was christened as Annice...
just to add more mud to the water. |biggrin|

sorry, couldn't figure out how to do the 'quote in a box' thing

Regards
LG

[David Annis]

Yep its another way of spelling the name but now after three weeks of searching I am becoming hardened to the pit falls and peculiarities of the job.
Cheers
Dave|5cups|

[get2BJ]

i have been looking for an aunt for a few years whose maiden name was Asa
Pabjoy i have found her marriage to an uncle

Hi bobs,

Who did she marry, when and where? Somebody may be able to help if you post the details - she may have been mistranscribed, it wouldn't be the first time! Place it on the relevant board (by county name preferably) and you may get a result.

Best wishes

Brenda

[Sue Mackay]

sorry, couldn't figure out how to do the 'quote in a box' thing


Instead of hitting Reply, hit Quote on the right hand side. You can delete part of the quote as long as you leave the QUOTE brackets.

[LifesGood]

/slaps forehead

Thanks Sue - booking appointment with optometrist right away |blush|

[MythicalMarian]

I ran across this most wonderful name on another thread "Cecil A UMPLEBY", and I thought what a horrible but lovely name to have and to search for! I get head aches searching for my lot of Wells, Stuart and Walsh's! And to top it off they all seem to have the same first names, Robert, Thomas, William, Albert, Elizabeth and Eliza's. I know I am not alone out there, as I read almost all of the posts and do try to help where I can - often to no avail! Common names a the bane for genealogists such as we.

I have a lovely one among my Stokes family: wait for it...Imperial George Arthur Stokes! However, although easy to trace on the censuses where his Mum and Dad were still in charge, he soon learned to think for himself and dropped everything but the Arthur! (Can we blame him?) But my all time favourite girlie is my Abert Amelia Stokes. Apart from appearing on the odd census as 'Albert Ernest' but a girl - she was easy to trace in the BMDs when I came to look for her death. She married a chap named Samuel Chorlton, so I knew there would only be one death entry for Abert Amelia Chorlton in the Stockport area, and there was. She actually lived to a ripe old age, bless her.

When I think how I have struggled with all my John and William Hayes people, I am very grateful that my great-grandfather's brother chose to call his daughter Abert Amelia. I'm not too bad with my own granddad either, he was Valentine Stokes, and is the only one in the country through the 1881-1901 censuses.

[MythicalMarian]

Pam - thank you. I shall be watching Prime Suspect later on, will print off your references and think about the problem during the breaks. I have a database of SIDDALL running to many hundreds of names - there are the variations you mention plus SIDDLE SIDLE SEIDEL SYDEL and even SIDDON in places. The name is common in the Eyam/Baslow/Stony Middleton area in the 1600's, in Dronfield in the 1500's and in Chesterfield/Whittington/Staveley in the 1700's and 1800's which is where my lot turn up with the biggest brick wall you can imagine!!!!!

Suedent - I was looking at the name ASPLAND in the LIN Boston area and found a Tunnard Aspland. Then various other families with a child of that name. There is even a Tunnard Street in Boston and I was told it is still in use today. I did research the DIMBERLINE tribe in South Yorkshire for a time and Easter Easter was found in most generations although I have not come across that anywhere else.

Eileen

Eileen - if you think you have problems tracing Siddall/Siddal/Syddall etc. etc. in Derbyshire - just wait till you get to Manchester and Greater Manchester! |biggrin| You can hardly put a pin between them in Stockport St. Mary's registers, or Manchester Cathedral! PM me if you want to exchange Siddall info.

[Fidgetsmum]

I'm a newbie round here so have only just found this thread.

After all the Elizas, Sarahs, James and Georges, in my family how I'd love to have been related to a neighbour of a long lost rellie. According to the 1851 census this person was baptised 'Happy'. Wouldn't you just love to have the nerve to do that to one of your children!!

[Jan1954]

I have Happy Sabina Bailey in my tree.

When I first found her, I thought it unusual - until I was trying to find her in a census...

There were loads of Happys! :D

[yorkshirecath]

I have s few uncommon names in my tree too and they are usually easyish to find. Also have some with unusual middle names that aren't anything to do with parents surnames, Selby snd Wager :o
The most common in mine is Barker and thats a bu**er to find! I have lots of Innocents which i thought would be uncommon but there are lots!
I have a Zillah which is fairly uncommon, my hubby has the Fitzackerleys and Quarks!, i also have Podoski which is easy to find.

Think my fave has to be Major Burles Morton(Major being his first name!)

[v.wells]

Yes I also have a Major (first name) uncommon to say the list but also difficult to find at times especially when looking for military.:)

[yorkshirecath]

Yes I also have a Major (first name) uncommon to say the list but also difficult to find at times especially when looking for military.:)


Oh i know! I did a search in google the other day and it just kept giving me military sorts!

[Barnzzz]

While looking for something else on BMD, I came accross the birth of the delightfully named Cloudless W Christmas (born Aylsham, 2nd quarter 1917).

I wonder what the 'W' stands for ?

Sue

[v.wells]

"White"?:D

[susan-y]

:D|
"White"?:D
|laugh1|
I like your thinking!

I also have several common names...Thompson is the 3rd most common surname in Ireland according to something I read..and nearly everyone's first names were repeated. I also have Edwards and Henson with the same first names as the Thompsons|shakehead

To top it off, alot of peoples' occupation was yeoman so its really hard trying to find Yeoman on some searches

I just love it when I find someone with an unusual first name i.e. a couple of gr.uncles ( 2 out of 16 in one family) were Enoch and Dufferin and that helped me contact some 2nd cousins, one of whom has a summer cottage 20 minutes away from me!! She also has tons of family history that she has shared:D

Sue

[v.wells]

Ahh.You make me jealous! And aren't you lucky to have found them? :)

I have just discovered that some cousins of mine came over to Canada in the 50's - I just found this out from an old tree that was sent to me from my 1st cousin. Good G -- they could be living down the street from me!. My cousin has sat on this info for about 5 years and I could just scream. Of course on the tree there are no dates, surnames for spouses or proper names for children. Makes it V E R Y difficult and tedious.

I ran across a good surname this afternoon "Whines"!

[susan-y]

I've lived here for 30 years and in Ontario for 38 and just " found " these cousins last Spring! I always knew there would be some cousins out here as only 3 brothers (of the 16) moved to BC from Ontario at the beginning of the 1900's. This same family (my Dad's) is my biggest |banghead| as g grandad was from Ireland. I was hoping the unusual names were from my g grandad's family, but I have found Enoch on my g grandmother's side from Lincolnshire and they were easier to trace!!:rolleyes:

Have you tried 411-ing any of the names? Maybe you'll find them next door!!!
Good luck shaking down your cousin!

Sue

[Fidgetsmum]

Sad soul that I am, I was delighted when I found a Mahala in my tree - 'Oh good ..' I thought, ' ... she'll be easy to find'. Yeah right! 3 pages of results and not one of those wretched Mahalas was mine!