Does the Spelling of a Name Really Matter? The Importance of Identifiers Beyond Name

Just how much does a surname’s spelling indicate familial relationships or lack thereof? I once had someone tell me that my Hockers of Dauphin County were not related to the Hackers of Lancaster County because the name was spelled differently—even though both spellings (and others) were used in documents in Lancaster County.

Fortunately, in this case, I was dealing with one family with its surname spelled multiple ways. By what happens when you have multiple surnames that all end up sharing the same spellings and misspellings? And when the families both live in the same general area in the same time period? And when they both use some of the same given names for their children?

A mess.

This is the case with my Weidman family. If you followed along with my posts on John Weidman’s pedigree, you got an insight into this with the question of who Mary Adams married—Christopher Witman or Christopher Weidman. The problem of deciphering between the families is not limited to marriage records, though.

It actually starts with the families’ arrival in Pennsylvania. Martin Weidman and his father are listed in Strassburger’s Pennsylvania German Pioneers as “Mathias Whiteman” and “Mathew Whiteman.”¹

Also with the family onboard the ship Elizabeth were Maria Catrina Whitman (aged 38), Margret Whiteman (aged 30), Johanes Whitman (aged 15), Eliza Whitman (aged 13 1/2), Christoffer Whiteman (aged 8), Mathias Whiteman (aged 6), Wendell Whiteman (aged 3 1/2), Elizabeth Whiteman, dead (aged 2).²

The consistency is off even within these records, varying between Whiteman and Whitman. Matthias’ signature, however, is more accurate. It appears to read “Wheidtman,” but is likely “Weidtman” as found in Gräben church records.³

The problem doesn’t get better in documents from later years either. Compare the following households in the 1758 tax assessment and tax return for Cocalico Township.

There are six Whitman/Whiteman men listed in the tax assessment: Christopher, George, John, Peter, Martin and Michael.

Now take a look at the tax return for the same year.

As you can see even in records from the same year, written by the same man, the names are spelled differently. Here there are both Weidman and Witman spellings used. Additionally, the “Peter Whitman” from the assessment is listed as “Peter Wittmer” in the return.

I found this to be true in most of the records I reviewed. In some, the spelling varied within the same document. In 1749, Christopher Witman sold land to William Adams. In the deed his surname is variously spelled as Weidman, Wheitman, Wittman, and Weitman.⁴ In the deed where Christopher purchased the land, his surname is Whittman.⁵ This is important because there were two men: “Christopher Weidman” and “Christopher Witman.” Knowing which one sold the land can be critical to getting the family research right.

The importance of consistent spelling—especially with surnames—is a fairly modern construct. People spelled words as they heard them. It wasn’t until the 1830s—at least here in the U.S.—when literacy became a mark of success and “gentility”—that spelling became at all important.⁶

It’s only by tracing these families through time, comparing multiple documents and matching tracts of land based on size, boundaries, location, and neighbors, and identifying children, spouses and associates linked to each family—often through multiple generations—that it’s possible to weed through the confusion and build an understanding of who’s who. Name alone just does not cut it.

• Category: Research