Too many spellings of name
I am trying to find records and information on my great grandmother's family. As my mother told me her maiden name was Cecilia Furnett (born abt 1874 in Pennsylvania) and she married Thomas Black. The spelling of her first name is different on different documents (Cecilia, Celia, Cecelia) I am trying to find information on her parents William and Martha Jane. The problem I am having is that the spelling of their surname keeps changing dependent on what document I'm looking at. In fact, her actual marriage record has her last name spelled three different ways. So far the spellings I have encountered are Furnett, Burnett, Verentt, Burnett, Vannatt, Fannatt, Vanette and Furnatt, Venett, Venette. I have already searched for her mother who had the maiden name of Martha Jane Simms, but had no luck. Lastly, rumor has it that her father either was killed in the Johnstown Flood or deserted the entire family and started at new family in parts unknown. Has anyone else had this issue and, if so, did you ever find a correct name and/or suggestions on more ways to search.
Answers
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@Sally9,218 There is a Cecelia Jane Burnett listed in FamilySearch, PID G1YQ-9CL. This record appears to match your Cecilia Furnett, as the birth place and year match, along with the husband and parent's names. Cecelia Jane has 12 sources attached to her record, as does her husband. I would suggest that you start with those attached records and choose the spelling most commonly used on the documents when Cecelia was an adult. Alternate spellings can be listed in the Other Information section, under Alternate name. Choosing one logical standard name for the profile allows the family lines to remain clear. Cecelia also has several siblings with attached sources and so that may be another place you can look to confirm spellings. From what I can see, you have quite a puzzle ahead of you! I would start with the sources you have in FamilySearch, and also check other sites to see which sources have been attached to the family. This may be one way to get started in your search. Best of luck!
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