If you want to know how YOUR direct line spelled his name, look for a document where HE
wrote it.
The WWI draft registration could be of help. Ask yourself, when looking at the document,
is the hand writing the same for the questions as it is for the signature??? If
different, take the spelling that HE did. How about any cards or letters in the
family?..
The other sources you mentioned are what 'someone else' wrote as his name. He
could not have filled out his own death certificate. The clerk could have wrote his name
for the marriage licence, etc. If he did not order his grave marker HIMSELF, but
someone else did it, the spelling and other information could be wrong.
I would suggest to record 'on the top of his family group sheet' when you find a
different spelling, and where it appeared.
When you turn to the computer you then will have several ways of spelling the name, to
find him in other places---where someone else spelled his name.. Many people do not know
that "the person on the census did not write his own name or spell it out to the
enumerator'. The enumerator wrote what they HEARD and did not check with the person
being interviewed.!!!
I have had my first and last name spelled differently by people, 'hearing what I
said' and it is now how "I" spell it.
Keep track of the family he comes from and where, to check if you have the correct family.
Sometimes when children got older they changed how they spelled THEIR names. Brothers
could have chosen different spelling. Even different than their parents. Many reason,
just find how your person actually spelled this name and keep that for your research.
Eventually you will learn when the kids started using different spelling. Record that for
your records
Good luck
Susanne
(not SuZanne)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm new to this list. Is there a source for a Michigan Marriage Index orDeath Index?
I'm trying to establish the correct version of the surname for a Loren Eugene
Hudelson/Huddelson/Huddleston. He singed as Hudelson his registration for the World War I
draft, listing his DPOB as 1891 in Denver, CO. There are records listing him as Huddleson
for his marriage in Muskegon, MI on 05 (or 08) Nov 1920. There also are records spelling
his name as Huddelson for his death in Grand Rapids, MI on 22 Mar 1930. His parents are
shown some places as Clarence Huddelson and Anna Felton. I've not found any
authoritative source for his surname, his lineage, or
his descendants.
Dave Hudelson