What LNAB should I use?

Question

I have an interesting conundrum. I created a profile for Francis Eugene Hearn. His name was rendered (in records) as both Hearn and Hearne, but his death certificate had Hearn as did his gravestone.

However, his son, Francis Howell Hearn, was rendered Hearne both on his death records and on his gravestone.

So what should Francis Howell Hearn's LNAB be? Hearn? Or Hearne? He was born in 1896, so there are no birth records. Most of his records have his surname as Hearne.

I'm inclined to use Hearn, because that was his father's surname, but I thought I'd ask before creating his profile since LNAB is such a fixed record on W/T.

Answer 1

I agree that Hearn should be the LNAB as it is in the 1st census record listed. The alternate spelling should be in other last name field. You can also address this in the biography.

Answer 2

You should examine each profile on its own.

The surname of the father is only an indication for the surname of the son. And the names can change from generation to generation.

So considering the records for the son. Which name is best documented?.

As an example: The birth record of [Barnscheidt-1] shows Bannscheidt. But there was a court order decades later, that the name had to be corrected to Barnscheidt. So I entered Barnscheidt as LNAB. His daughter was [Bannscheidt-1]. Her birth record shows also Bannscheidt. But she were married before the court order. Her name wasn't any longer Bannscheidt, but Keim. Her birth name Bannscheidt was never corrected. The name of her brothers was corrected.

Comments

The early records (census and draft) spell his name, Hearn. The later records (military, marriage, and death) spell his name Hearne. So, I used Hearn as the LNAB and Hearne as the alternate name.

His children would be named Hearne. I think, by doing it that way, the change in the name becomes evident, rather than appearing as a typo.

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Following your statements (without examining your sources) it sounds to be the best way in your constellation.