From: <FamRSearch(a)aol.com>
Not mispelled - just spelled differently. It is hard for those of us in the 20th
century education to understand that before the social security system (1930's) and
driver's license (1920's) people did not have an attachment to the spelling of a
name. The name was spelled however the person writing down wanted to spell it. In
fact it was a sign of an educated person to be able to spell a name several ways
and you will find this in some deeds where there may be 5 or 6 different spellings
in the same document. In one class I went to a lecturer had a deed the spelled the
man's name 11 different ways.
It was said, reportedly by an early President that "I would not trust a lawyer who
could spell a name only one way." This was because if he was not educated enough
to spell a name several ways, he was probably not a very good lawyer.
SO don't say mispelled as that implies a mistake, it was just spelled differently.
Julia Coldren-Walker