Wife's surname on South Africa, Western Cape—Deceased Estate Files

Ciavardini, Margaret

The surname of the wife of the deceased is not written, but she signed her husband's death certificate with the surname of her husband. Should I enter that as her surname, or leave the field blank?

Basford P A

Hello @Ciavardini, Margaret just noticed your post, sorry for the delay, you may have submitted the batch for indexing.

But for future refence the following is an extract from a Knowledge Article.

How do I index last names (surnames)?

Article Id: 938

April 20, 2020

Enter the surname as you see it printed on the historical document that you are indexing. ( If no surname enter Blank. When the record is viewed by the person viewing it he/she will see the information displayed on the record.)

• Do not assume the surname of an individual based on the surname of someone else, such as a parent or a spouse, unless directed otherwise in the project instructions.
• Type the maiden name before the current surname. Often the term "née,” “geb,” or “geboren” was written with a surname to indicate a maiden name.

Thank you for the invaluable work that you are doing for the FamilySearch Tree.

Kind Regards, Peter A Basford.

LarryClark43

The general guidelines state:

• Names may have been written in more than 1 place in a document. Type the most complete version of the name in the indexing field.