Great grandmother's name is incorrect in main record
My great grandmother, Beatha Belle Houston (LJG7-151) is listed as Bertha Houston. I realize that I can add Beatha as an alternate name. My question is: why is Bertha listed when every single record attached shows various spellings of Beatha or Belle: "Beatha, Betha, Belle, and Bell." Why is the lone misspelling being used as the main name? How can I get this changed? Shouldn't there be a consistent relationship with what sources say and the main entry used for a record?
Answers
-
Hi Jennifer,
You an change he name to the correct spelling in the details screen by following these instructions
Just scroll to her name and then clicking on the edit button
0 -
If you turn on Detail View, you'll see that the name was changed not quite three years ago with the reason "Changed name according to the Houston Family Tree book by Rev Willis Houston (in our possession)".
If you look at the change log (Latest Changes - Show All) and filter by name, you'll see that her name was originally entered as "Bell" (no surname), then changed to "Betha Bell Houston", and then to "Beither Bell Houston" with the reason "found on marriage record". These three entries were all done by the same person. The change to Bertha was by a different person. You could try sending the contributors messages by clicking their usernames and then the "message" button -- they're probably your second cousins or thereabouts.
But as Sylvia said, you can change the name yourself. It's an open-edit communal tree, after all.
1 -
I'll admit I'm a bit confused because none of the sources on Beatha show her name as that but five of them, all marriage records for her children, show her name as Bertha. Nine of the twenty-two the sources just have her as Belle.
But in any event, names are funny. You almost have to be able to ask the person directly. Then you can still have the problem of what was on the birth certificate and what the person was known by. You really can't talk about mis-spellings with names particularly in older records from times when spelling was viewed as very flexible
What I actually wanted to mention, is that when you correct the name be sure that you include a source that does contain the Beatha spelling and a thorough reason statement as to why you are changing it.
0 -
This is an emotional plug. My grandfather and his brothers all went by crazy nick names. No one EVER called them by their given names, including long after their deaths. In fact most descendants never even knew what their real names were. It was only when I started doing family history that I found their legal given names, that were - yes - in all the records. So, following the rules, I carefully made sure their given names were in the main vital field, and added the AKA with nicknames in additional information. But it seems very inadequate and inappropriate.
Eventually, someone changed the name of one of the brothers to show the nickname in quotes. To be honest, I applauded because now I know one of my great uncles is living on in someone's memory.
This is not an answer to your question, but a possible explanation that could apply.
0
