Tenney vs Tenny - LNAB 1600's

Question

What should James Tenney/Tenny's LNAB be?

In 2013 a question was commented on about the correct LNAB of the Tenney/Tenny family of Rowley, Massachusetts.  I've recently begun researching the family, and have found the following source data:

1. In the Rowley, Massachusetts VRs, James and all the rest of the children of Thomas and Ann (Mighill) Tenny (ca 1650's) are listed with the last name of Tenny, within the section of Tenney's (http://www.americanancestors.org/databases/massachusetts-vital-records-to-1850/image/?pageName=214&volumeId=7785&rId=141876424 Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, Rowley V1, page 214.
2. In this book referenced, in the Preface the author states that the "progressive form (of the name) has been adopted",  which means that the spelling is consistently "Tenney" .(http://archive.org/stream/tenneyfamilyorde1891tenn#page/16/mode/2up  ''The Tenney family ; or the descendants of Thomas Tenney, of Rowley, Massachusetts, 1638-1890'' (1891), pp. Preface, 17-18.) 
3. In a G2G post in 2013, in which Vic Watt asked about protocol for merging with different LNAB spellings, a descendant of the Tenney family adds a question about the Tenny/Tenney name, specifically, but it isn't answered: http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/14588/what-is-the-merging-protocol-with-different-spellings?show=14629#c14629
4. In NEHGR 151:329-341, the researcher, Douglas Richardson, uses the LNAB spelling of Tenney, tracing it back to the Tenney family in England.  Throughout this reference the last name is spelled Tenney. Presumably, his research was thorough, and he would have acknowledged the spelling of Tenny, if he had found it.
5. Here on WikiTree, there is a preponderance of Tenney's vs Tenny's, beginning in the 1500's, and extending through contemporary times.

As a note, James' father's LNAB is listed as Tenny in WikiTree.  He is PGM, and possibly should have it changed to Tenney as well.

 

In light of the evidence for Tenney as well as for Tenny, which should be the LNAB for James Tenney/Tenny and his siblings?

Answer 1

You got my attention here because I've edited a few Tenney/Tenny profiles -- and I did at least one merge involving the two different spellings.

I prefer "Tenney," but I don't much like the idea of standardizing the spelling of a name when there's evidence that different family members used different spellings.

In my opinion, the most important things to do with these profiles are (1) in family generations where there is some evidence that both spellings were used, include the other spelling as an "Other Last Name" (or as a "Current Last Name," if there's evidence that the person spelled the name differently from the way their parents spelled it) to reduce the chance that duplicate profiles will be created and (2) merge duplicates.

Answer 2

The immigrant, Thomas Tenny, does not have a profile by Anderson in the Great Migration series. (We typically use Anderson's spelling when there is a profile.) However, there is a reference to him in another profile where Anderson spells it TENNEY.

Comments

Thanks for this information.  Would Anderson's spelling warrant having his last name be Tenney in the LNAB field, even given the Rowley, MA VRs?

Maybe LNAB isn't so critical as long as the other, commonly known last name is in the Other Last Name field. If we keep with the Rowley VRs, the records listed all the variants of Tenne/Tenny/Tenney under the broad heading of Tenney, which makes it seem like that might be the better LNAB to use for James, his siblings and father.

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Frankly, since both spellings are present, I wouldn't bother changing the LNAB in this case UNLESS we could find an original birth record that spelled it differently than it is currently.

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Thanks, Jillaine.  There are two Tenny/Tenney's that need to be merged (for James), so I'm wondering which we should use.  I'm guessing Tenney...

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Looks that way.