Genealogy Chat

I am unsure about why the name difference is cropping up..
My ancestors were surnamed HILLS as I know from word-of-mouth and through genealogical research.. A lot of my cousins traced their ancestry back with the name HILLS yet some other cousins traced the SAME PEOPLE with SAME DATES, SAME EVERYTHING apart from the surname which is HILL -- why?? It can cause a lot of confusion and it seems the records are also doing it online... Have I traced the wrong people or are just my cousin researchers dropping the "S" deliberately???

Also, the name changed to HILL on MY LINEAGE in 1870s but before that it was completely HILLS!

Dont forget people couldnt read or write so names got spelt how they sounded by enumerators ,registrars. Clergy etc . Also local accents played a part in how names sounded.

I am sure all of us who are doing our trees have come across different spellings of names even to the point of them being soundex.

For instance my paternal gran came from the DARTNELL family in SE London . one of her uncles went to Kent to work in the Medway Docks and married a local girl in the 1890,s.

His name is recorded as DARTNER She was a Hetterley but her name is written as Ettrerley on their marriage cert , both signed the cert with a X so wouldnt have been aware of how their names had been written. both would have different local accents so the spelling were probably the best guess or how they sounded.

I noticed, on familysearch.org it goes -

Thomas Hills (my 3rd great)
James Hills (my 4th great)

then

Thomas Hill (my 5th great)

and so on....

Why did it go from Hill (which is my name now) to HILLS, then back to HILL or is this just due to someone else's research or records??

Also, one of my cousins who has done some research is named HILLS!

I don't think it matters too much, as long as you are sure you have followed the correct lines back.

I know a man whose grandparents lived in one partiular cottage when each of their many children were born. The first 2 or 3 were registered locally as COOMBS whereas the later ones were registered at the newly opened register office in a new location by a different registrar and were registered COOMBES.

A friend has direct family who have an S at the end of their surname, whereas her cousins spell their name without.
They tend to stick with their registered spelling, but all one family.

Gwyn

I have several different spellings for my surname and it has come down differently in different lines. My great grandfather's name was spelt incorrectly on his marriage entry.

Take a look at this thread to see how many variations there can be of a name:

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/ancestors/thread/1328214

Yes.. Part of my KNOWLES ancestry have multiple spellings in records such as KNOWLES, KNOWLE, KNOL, KNOLLS, KNOLS, KNOWELLS haha..
I suppose I shouldn't worry about it too much, I thought I may have gathered the wrong information at first but not sure.. I still can't understand though why in a parish marriage, the name was displayed as HILLS yet his birth surname was HILL, then YET his children became HILLS....

Have you seen images of the originals or just transcriptions? An s at the end of a word could easily just look like a squiggle.

Similar to yourself, DJHill - I have a gt.gt.grandfather, Joseph Bills, who was baptised Joseph Bill. Three of his siblings were baptised Bills, the other three were just Bill.

I've always thought it odd, as it isn't really a matter of spelling. It must be that sometimes they pronounced the S at the end of the name, and sometimes they didn't!

The same can happen with place names.

Aldbourn Aldbourne Aldburne Alburne (as the locals say it) etc.

Nothing to worry about - it is quite normal and examples abound....!

It wasn't until towards the latter half of the 19th century that spellings tended to stabilize as more and more became literate.

You wrote..................

Have I traced the wrong people or are just my cousin researchers dropping the "S" deliberately???

You could ask them......................

Thanks for the help, I guess I will just have to keep clarifying it and alter the surnames as the records show. But still I am wondering about JAMES HILLS (I am talking about him in a new post)..

Ok an example for you.

3 wills for the same family.
How do I record these names?

Will of Joseph Brockington, Cleeve Prior & Broadway 1709
Joseph BROCKINGTON of Cleeve Prior and Broadway (1665-1709): "In the name of God amen. I Joseph BRAGINTON of
Broadway in the County of Worcester being somewhat weake in body but in perfect mind and memory blessed bee god doo make & ... this my last will & testament in form following. ffirst I bequeath my soule to ye mercy of god that gave it & my body to ye earth in hopes of a joyfull Resurrection & first I give to my brother Edwards son five pounds Item I give to my Sister's daughter five pounds Item Igive to my brother Thomas his children forty shillings each childe Item I give my brother Larans ye house I now in joy if he has no children then after his death I give it to my brother Edward and his heirs for ever. I do make my brother Larans my solo Executor of this my last will and testament given under my hand and seal this fifth day of March 1708(9) Sealed Sined & delivered in ye presence of Henry STATCHLY his mark RICHARD WOOD the mark of Joseph BRAGINTON

Probate issued to Laurence Braginton 27th May 1709

NOTES: Edward Brockington of Cleeve Prior (1627-1709) had four sons and one daughter - Thomas, Edward, Susannah,
Joseph and Laurence.

Will of Laurence Brockington, Broadway 1721
Laurence BROCKINGTON (1667-1721): will written in name BRACKINGTON and signed "Lawrence BRAGINTON, mark" makes his loving wife Elizabeth his sole executrix and leaves everything to her. They had one daughter, but it seems the house had already been sold to Richard WOOD, the witness to Joseph's will, probably to pay the specific bequests. Lawrence's inventory
totalled £26 3s and was a labourer.

Will of Dorothy Wood, Broadway, 1724
Dorothy WOOD, nee Brockington (c1660-1724), was a cousin of this family. In her will (Dorothy WOOD of Cleeve Prior, widow) she leaves "that house and backside and all of thereunto belongeth lying and being in Broadway in the County of Worcester belonging to me .." to her brother and executor, Willam BROCKINGTON of Cleeve Prior, weavour, with directions to sell it and pay specific bequests of more than £50 to some 10 individuals mainly in the two branches of the Brockington family.

They end up as variations of Bragginton. Should I record a name as in the document I first find it in? Impossible when there are so many variations even in the same document. Maybe you could just add also known as and record the variations.
When searching for this family I would try Brag*t*n, Br*t*n although I have also found it as Bragg or Brock.
I have left the will as it appear,s bad grammar and all.

Wow, that is something really to think about!! Thanks.... Also, how can I possibly view wills on for free?

You may be lucky if you google which is what I did here.

The National Archives does have some wills viewable on line but not free - about £3-4.

Some other sites have them but you need a subscription. As Lady Kira said, try googling some names.

My CLARK's vary to CLARKE from census to census, generation to generation, baptism to marriage, birth to death etc etc

My dad's maternal family name is Lamont traced to mid 1700's.
Some families became Lamond.

His paternal family name was Brannan which appears to have altered from Brennan

My mum's birth record has her maiden name as Kerr.
Her younger brother's says Carr.
Mum was always a Kerr and her brother is still a Carr??
As for their grandparents:
Irish censuses of 1901 say Carr and 1911 says Kerr