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To: Ditter

I meant farther back in Stephen F Austin’s history, there may be different spellings. We’re talking about a culture that seldom had formal education for the masses.

How many names do you think were re-spelled or re-given during the days of Ellis Island? Often, a name was spelled as it sounded, or if that was an impossible task, a person was renamed for the country or city they came from.


75 posted on 01/04/2015 10:00:13 AM PST by Monkey Face (If you tell the truth it becomes part of your past. If you tell a lie it becomes part of your future)
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To: Monkey Face
"Often, a name was spelled as it sounded, or if that was an impossible task, a person was renamed for the country or city they came from."

By oral family tradition, that's what happened in my family when my great great (great?) grandfather came over from Ireland. The family name then was one of the MacKenzie variations and, I guess, because of his accent, the reception clerk couldn't understand the name, but he did understand "Costley" ... actually, the name of the town that he was from "Castleigh".

Anyway, now we're Costleys instead of MacKenzies.

76 posted on 01/04/2015 10:04:03 AM PST by BlueLancer (Pachelbel --- The original one-hit wonder.)
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