Getting Through the Confusing Maze of Variant Names and Spelling

Christine has confusion with the varied spelling of her ancestor's name - recorded variously as Grumbley, Grambley, Grumley, Grimley, Bromley, Grumly

I have been searching for my 2^nd great grandfather Philip Richard Grumbley b: abt 1823 in Ireland.  My great grandfather’s obituary spelled his last name as Grambley but survived by a brother named Grumbley.  I can document the wife Rosa with Philip Richard Grumley and their children in  the 1880 Harmony Township, Clark County, Ohio census.  I found the family listed in 1870 as Grimley in Harmony Township, Clark County, Ohio.  In the 1860 census they are listed as Bromley in Green Township, Clark County, Ohio.  The church marriage records from the diocese list them in 1853 as Philipium Grumly and Rosea Hockett and shows them married in Springfield, Ohio at St Raphael’s Church.  I found marriage records for two of the daughters as late as 1887 in South Charleston, Ohio at St Charles Borromeo Parish.  Try as I might, I can not find a death record for either Rosa nor Philip Grumbley.  I have not found anything that tells me other than Ireland and I am not at all sure how their name was really spelled!  I have been a member of ancestry since it’s beginning and I have used familysearch.org, findagrave and the Clark County Heritage Center Library.  No luck……… Can you help?

Christine - Normally when there is such a jump from a surname starting with "G" to "B" as in that 1860 census, the usual reason is that the original record has been mis-transcribed. In this case, it has not. The image clearly shows Brumley. So how does this happen? Say the two names out loud. They sound rather similar, especially if mumbled, said with an accent or by a child. Remember we do not know who gave information when the census taker came around - was it a neighbour, a child? Did the person giving the information have a strong accent? This family was from Ireland and I can well imagine a clerk could easily confuse the sound of Grumley for Brumley. I'd discard that as a variant of the surname.

As for the other variations, remember that spelling was not standardized in the 19th century. People spelled words as they sounded (phonetically) and many individuals could not read or write. You can get more help with an article I wrote called  5 Tips to Help You Navigate the Confusing Maze of Surname Variations

Finding a place of origin in Ireland can be a challenge. One of the tricks I use is to trace the children and find their marriage and death records. Sometimes you get lucky and a county of origin is given. Also look for obituaries of the parents and all the children. Since you found church records for the family you know what religion they were. This can help you narrow the search in Ireland. I see they were Catholic so you might want to search the new online Catholic Parish Registers for Ireland. You might first want to read my blog post 10 Steps to Searching the Irish Catholic Parish Records When You Only Know a County of Origin. 

The tips will work even without you knowing a county of origin but hopefully you can narrow that down by finding those all-important death records.

Search all the Children not just your Direct Ancestor!

Pamela asked about naturalization records for her ancestor William Galbraith.

I’m wondering if you would help me locate naturalization records for William Galbraith. We have reason to believe that he came from Northern Ireland in 1830, that he was a resident of Rochester, New York in 1841, that he resided in Ohio between 1843-1852 and became a naturalized citizen in Ohio, that he died in Portage, Wisconsin.  He was married to Eliza Woods and had 7 children. Samuel is my husband's descendent. I’m looking to find out where he came from in Ireland and thought his naturalization record might show this info.

Olive Tree Genealogy responds: 

Pamela,

It is unlikely that this early Naturalization will show anything more than William being from Ireland.  

Before September 27, 1906, there was no US Naturalization Service, and the BCIS has no naturalization records dated before September 1906. Before the 1906 act, declarations of intention had no expiration date. 

Before 1906, the declaration of intent generally contains more genealogically useful information than the petition. Petitions before 1906 usually show only a name, former allegiance, and date of naturalization. The declaration may include the alien's exact date of immigration into the United States. 

To search Ohio records see http://www.naturalizationrecords.com/usa/ohio.shtml

Since you hope to find his Irish origins, I'd hunt for the marriages and deaths of all his children. Sometimes a county in Ireland is provided on these documents. Also look for his marriage and death records. 
 

Extend Your Search When You Find Discrepancies in Ancestor Records

Linda M. asked in an email titled "Naturilisation [sic] records for Canada for Leo Mason"

My siblings and I have been trying for years to research our paternal grandfathers birthplace. He was supposed to have been born in Germany but became a Canadian citizen and fought in the First World War with the CEF. We have applied to the Canadian government but because we do not live in Canada and my surname is not the same I have been unsuccessful. I would be grateful if you could advise me as to my options. I have been on their website but the database does not open.

Olive Tree Genealogy responds: Linda, I'm sure it was just a typo but the word should be "naturalization". The first thing you should do is check the online CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) database for World War 1 Soldiers.  Library and Archives Canada is busy digitizing all the personnel records but even if Leo's has not been completed you will still be able to view his Attestation form.

Because there were several Leo Mason names (and variants) on the CEF database I asked Linda for more details. She replied

His name was Leo William Mason birthday 5/8/1880. He married our grandmother Elizabeth Marion Newington on 4/4/1911 in Stonewall. He died in Vancouver on 26/5/1955. He remarried in 1932 without divorcing our grandmother who had returned to England with our father in 1922.

Linda added that she thought he put Ohio on his Attestation papers because he was afraid to put Germany. I am not sure I believe that but she needs to find other records for Leo (census, vital registrations, etc) to verify his country of birth.

Also an index to Naturalization Records from 1915 to 1951 are online and the full record (if a name is found in the index that is of interest) can be ordered. These records can be searched by name up to 1939.  See http://www.naturalizationrecords.com/canada/ for the link

Don't Overlook FamilySearch Genealogy Records online

I don't usually accept anonymous queries. I figure if you want me to help, you should tell me your name. But... I broke my rule with this one only because it was easy to answer and it might help others.

An anonymous reader asked

Frederick Martin born 1912 in Cleveland Ohio to Earnest and Gertrude Martin. I cannot find anything in the state of Ohio that indicates when he died. I was told that he froze to death after an Aunt put him out in the dead of winter. The most recent story I heard was he was put out in Dayton Oh and was walking back to Cleveland. I have no idea of how old he was when this happened. He was never married and never served in military. He does show up on the 1920/1930 census. Nothing after that. All siblings are deceased so there is nobody to ask. Where do I go from here.

Ask Olive Tree answer: Dear Anonymous - I would have spent more time on this if you'd signed your email. But here is my quick answer for you:

https://beta.familysearch.org/ has Ohio deaths

Using Alternate Sources to Find Parents of an Ancestor

Jon's Question (edited):

My 3rd. great grandparents were Wesley H. Van Ausdeln; born 1815 in Goshen, Belmont County, Ohio and died in Van Buren County, Iowa; and Mary Bishop, born in December 1815 in Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia and died in 1853 in Iowa. Wesley and Mary were married on March 16, 1838 in Goshen by Asa Hoge.

They had 5 children. Their 3rd. child was John Luke Van Ausdeln, my 2ed. great grandfather. John Luke was born March 1, 1843 in Belmont County, Ohio. John Luke was in the 30th. Iowa, 'D' Co. Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. My 3rd. gteat grandmother, Mary Bishop Van Ausdeln died in 1853, I subspect giving birth to their 5th. child Mary.

After Mary died in 1853, Wesley married Lydia Ann Sawville. Lydia was born in 1830 in Ohio. Wesley and Lydid had 6 children between 1854 and 1872.
This is all I have on Wesley Van Ausdeln, Mary Bishop Van Ausdeln, and Lydia Ann Sawville Van Ausdeln.

My 13 year brick wall is, who were Wesley's parents? I have tried everything I can think of and have come up aginst a brick wall. Any help finding my lost Van Ausdeln, generation will be greatly appreciated. By the way did I mention that from Sijmon forward ther are 75 to 125 different spelling varations of Van Arsdalen. My Van Ausdeln spelling is one of the more common spellings.

Olive Tree Answer: Dear Jon,

It sounds as though you have already done a lot of work.But it also sounds as though it is time to do some generalized slogging.

If you have not already done so, the LDS have available several hundred reels of microfilm for Belmont County.

Probate records from 1802, an 1833 census, Friends church records, cemeteries, deed abstracts, deeds 1800 - 1942, marriages abstracted from court records, etc. The early (1810 - 1830) census indicate a couple of Van Ausdeln men in Belmont County, notably William and Lucas. I used the census records on Ancestry.com but Footnote,com also has many online.

You did not mention when Wesley died. Do you have a copy of his will? Perhaps he mentioned a niece or nephew. The LDS do have probate records for Van Buren County from 1853 and probates from 1841.

Be sure to gather all data before you jump ahead in genealogy research

Carrie's Question:

I was told that that my grandmothers mother (Antonie Vochner) married Vaclav(aka James)Pauza and he was born 1877. There are two problems in this. The first one which might be easier to figure out is Great Grandma's last name: Vochner is very hard to track down and I even found that "Wagner" might be the American Vochner name. It is said that the names changed due to the language barrier.

The second problem is I was told that Great Grandpa's (Vaclav's) father was named Dominik Pauza....but the only Dominik Pauza I found...and that I have actual documentation on is born in the year 1879 and can't possibly be the father with only having 2 yrs difference. Somehow I am thinking there is a Frank Pauza involved here and may even be the Grandfather in question. This gets really mixed up when you listen to what other people think but I am going to continue until I figure out something or until someone helps me out.

Olive Tree Answer:
Dear Carrie - I have a few questions of my own... Where are James and Antonie living? When and where did they die? What is your source for the information supplied?

I found James and Antonie in the Ohio census on Ancestry.com; I looked for Ohio death records. I found that James and Dominik are brothers.

You need to obtain all information possible here in the US before you start looking in Czechoslovakia; you need a hometown, or at the least, a region.

Have you checked for passenger lists or obituaries or naturalizations for Vaclav and Dominick? Ancestry.com has ships passenger lists and Footnote.com has Naturalization Records from NARA.

Have you checked church records in Cleveland? Where are their children baptised? Find their burials and you may find which church they attended. Follow Dominik: If Vaclav does not supply details on his birth in any of the offiicial records, Dominik may have been more specific. The LDS have hundreds of microfilms for Cleveland.

I urge you to go to the library: Gregory Stone has an article published in Rocenka in 1995 "Czech migration patterns to Cleveland, 1865-1940" which gives towns and villages. The great news is that some archives in Czechoslovakia are beginning to present information online. In the past, you had to send a research request to the Czech Embassy, wait many months, pay in Czech funds, and then find a translator for the results.

When you have that hometown, you can easily find a marriage record for Vaclav and Antonie; the marriage record will supply parents ofr both, maiden names for the mothers, and the names and occupations of the witnesses. And possibly more, depending on what region they were in. Then you can start on birth records for Antonie and Vaclav and Dominik.

Why look for Dominik's baptism? Because there may be different sponsors, different witnesses, etc. which may lead to other relatives; they may have been living in a different village or at another address. Any little detail may be important, and may lead to further discoveries. Never miss an opportunity to gather data.