On 14 June 1696, my 8 x great grandmother, Joanna STONE was christened in the small village of South Pool, Devon, England. Her father was called Edward, and her mother Jone.
And this is where things get confusing. I mean, I know about spelling in centuries gone past: whoever was doing the recording wrote the names down the way he thought they should be spelt, and most of our ancestors were illiterate, so they wouldn't have known the difference. Then again, spelling and writing weren't as important to them as they are to (present-day) genealogists like you and me.
So, baby Joanna (spelt 'Joanna' in the baptismal register) was 'Joan' by the time she married in 1722, and 'Joan' when she was buried in 1763. Her mother was 'Jone'. My 2 x great grandmother MURCH was 'Johanna' at her baptism in 1844, 'Joanna' at her marriage in 1869, and back to 'Johanna' on her death certificate in 1875. And then back to the mid-1600s, when my 8 x great aunt is 'Johane' BLAGDON. No wonder I can't find her baptism. The search engine has finally given up hope at all these spellings!
My question is: how are all these pronounced? 'Jone' I can manage. But the first clue I had that 'Johanna' didn't have a spoken 'H' in the middle was when she was married as 'Joanna'. The search engine isn't the only one around here that's confused...
And this is where things get confusing. I mean, I know about spelling in centuries gone past: whoever was doing the recording wrote the names down the way he thought they should be spelt, and most of our ancestors were illiterate, so they wouldn't have known the difference. Then again, spelling and writing weren't as important to them as they are to (present-day) genealogists like you and me.
So, baby Joanna (spelt 'Joanna' in the baptismal register) was 'Joan' by the time she married in 1722, and 'Joan' when she was buried in 1763. Her mother was 'Jone'. My 2 x great grandmother MURCH was 'Johanna' at her baptism in 1844, 'Joanna' at her marriage in 1869, and back to 'Johanna' on her death certificate in 1875. And then back to the mid-1600s, when my 8 x great aunt is 'Johane' BLAGDON. No wonder I can't find her baptism. The search engine has finally given up hope at all these spellings!My question is: how are all these pronounced? 'Jone' I can manage. But the first clue I had that 'Johanna' didn't have a spoken 'H' in the middle was when she was married as 'Joanna'. The search engine isn't the only one around here that's confused...
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I understand this because my grandmother on my dad's side died in 1919 and her name is spelt at least 11 different ways
ReplyDeleteIsn't genealogy fun? It's such a rush when you spot 'your' ancestor, even though they have been spelt a differentway. :O)
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