I need help with a merge; change of spelling surname

Question

I have Laban Levi Prichard-278 and Laban Levi Pritchard-776. They are same person. In personal records I have Prichard without the "t", research shows there is a "t" on census records. Do I correct the spelling before the merge? What do I do about children who dropped the "t" in next generation?

Comments

If it is like my Prichard line, however the census taker or clerk etc. spelled the name phonetically. The name was enunciated differently depending on location and accent of ancestor. My family runs the full gambit, Prichard, Pritchard, Pritchett, Prichett.. My Father being well read knew the derivation of the name and that correct spelling should be  Prichard, while the rest of the immediate family spell it with the T.. My Grandfather always pronounced the name as Pritchett. I use my given surname Prichard and just use aka several times. Someone mentioned Hugh Brady, which is my ancestor on my Mom's side. I have seen this name spelled Bready. My main rule is before I add anything to the family tree, It has to be sourced or  when a series of facts are strung together one can make the presumption of a fact.

Answer 1

Legal documents use Prichard

 

Laban Prichard

 in the U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

VIEW

Name:	Laban Prichard
Birth Year:	abt 1822
Place of Birth:	Tennessee
Age on 1 July 1863:	41
Race:	White
Marital Status:	Married
Residence:	Wayne, Buchanan, Missouri
Congressional District:	7th
Class:	All

Source Citation

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 1 of 1

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Original data:

Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registrations, 1863-1865. NM-65, entry 172, 620 volumes. NAI: 4213514. Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110. National Archives at Washington D.C.

 

 

Laban Prichard

 in the Kansas Voter Registration Lists, 1854-1856

No Image
Text-only collection

Name:	Laban Prichard
District/County:	14
Precinct/Township:	Wolf Creek
Election Date:	30 Mar 1855
Page #:	490

Source Information

Graden, Debra, ed. Kansas Voter Registration Lists, 1854-1856 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Original data: Kansas Territorial Government. Territorial Census of 1855 and 1856. Leavenworth, KS, USA: Kansas Territory, 1856.

Answer 2

Many families have had spelling shifts over time, and it's common for one individual to have had their name spelled two or more different ways during their lifetime.

WikiTree aims to use the spelling that was in use for each particular person during their life. LNAB should be your best estimate of the spelling in use at the time of birth (based on birth or baptism records, if available, or other good records if there's no birth or baptism record). Current Last Name is the name that prevailed around time of death. Use Other Last Names for additional versions of the name. It's OK for parents and children to have different spellings for the LNAB.

Census records aren't especially good sources for spelling. Are there other records for the family that would help determine the LNAB?

Regardless of what you find, it probably would be a good idea to include both spellings on the profile (for example, one as LNAB and the other in "Other Last Names").