Hi Richard:
Since you are new, I would like to offer you some advice! A word to the
wise is sufficient, they say! When you write something like "it should be
Willie, not William" you cannot really be sure of that.
My husband's name is William Kenneth Cathey. All his life his mother told
him she spelled his middle name Kennith, instead of Kenneth (I guess trying to
be different.) His father and mother were born in TX and so were his
grandparents. When getting a passport as middle-aged man, he wrote to California,
where he was born in 1942, and found out his birth certificate said "William
Kenneth Cathey."
Many of us who have been at the genealogy game for a long time have found
numerous spellings and we also know now that "Patsy" was a nickname for
"Martha"
of all things, and nearly every "Mary" was called "Polly" her whole
life, at
one certain point in the 19th century.
Also Cathey itself is spelled myriad ways. The big honcho of Chic-Fil-A
spells his name "Cathy" but you can be sure it is the same family.
"Cathey,
Cathy, Cathie" and on it goes.
I was helped a great deal when someone told me this information, so I hope
it will help you, too!
Sincerely,
Sharon Lee Gates Cathey
Indian Rocks Beach, FL