Question

Jay W Rice changed his name to Jay W Cleghorn at abt 19 yrs old early 1870, brn abt 1850 / NY / father Anson; Why??

Comments

Supposition is all there is to go on? Such as he found out he's not a Rice? His fiancee was a Cleghorn? Or he could inherit from a Cleghorn relative IF and only if he took the name Cleghorn? Anson Rice was his step-father? 

There's a number of J. W. Rice at  www.familysearch.org, one is Dr., Ellis Island list, 1895, US Cititzen, male, came in from Antwerp, ship was Westernland; another in 1876, male, ship Alyssinia. 

---

Thank you!

Answer 1

Assuming this is the same Jay Rice/Cleghorn as https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rice-12208 then it is likely he took his foster father's name. See

"New York Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YC1-996T?cc=1920234&wc=Q7P5-82S%3A213304801%2C214045501 : 28 May 2014), St. Lawrence > Letters of guardianship 1865-1883 vol 3 > image 359 of 515; county courthouses, New York.

That leads to the question was Anson his father? Did his mother die? What about his siblings?

Note: my grandmother did just assume her foster father's surname after her guardianship in 1879, and she did marry his youngest son. Not something unheard of. The father, a widower could not care for a 4 year old girl.

Comments

Yes, it is the same!  Trying to understand what happened to Jay's father, Anson Rice as I believe Anson moved to Wisconsin and lived there for about twenty years.  Jay's mother was Rebecca Rundell (spelling may differ).  And yes, assuming surnames was more common I believe too as my great-grandfather assumed his last name (actually, this same great-grandfather's father is who I am researching in this Rice line question).