Jim Carroll,
Thank you for the reminder of reasons for surname spelling changes. People
had so many valid reasons to change their names to project a "fitting in"
with the community--or to decrease the amount of prejudice against them.
I'm sure we all have samples we're aware of.
My g-grandmother, Mary Jessy CARRELL, came to light only this year because
she was always referred to as Mary JASSY. I haven't really begun to dig
into the background of the surname CARRELL/CARROLL. The only importance I
place on the spelling is based on what's given to me, as well as what name
to search. When someone mentioned the Catholic CARROLL, it seemed opposite
of what I knew about her religious practices. If the name becomes something
else, then I will keep note. Oddly enough, she married a man named LEBLANC
from Quebec, but apparently changed his name to WHITE when he crossed the
border because an anglicized name would get him a job.
Judith in CA