Should Paul Revere's Father's surname be kept in his native spelling or not ?

+16 votes
613 views

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Revere-87

I think it should be in the original French spelling with Revere starting at his son, the famous Paul Revere because Paul was born in America.

Suggestions ?

WikiTree profile: Paul Revere
in Genealogy Help by Maggie N. G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
edited by Ellen Smith
Sounds like a case for LNAB Revoire and Current Last Name Revere for the father.

I have added my comment here again. "Rookie mistake" .. I should respond to the original question too.

 "I think that it is essential to continue to link both names historically and genealogically.

French Huguenots during that period often changed their family surnames when they migrated or fled to other regions or countries for political, religious, security and family distinctive reasons. The French family  surnames I'm researching believed it was important to distinguish their protestant versus catholic religious beliefs while also "assimilating" a surname spelling that would be advantageous and in accordance with the region's or country's culture they had migrated to. New England at the time of Paul Revere was both major protestant and English, ( Eastern England British especially,) majorities. An example of Huguenot research for "Barbeau" will find many of the families fleeing to Britain changing their surname spelling to, "Barbot." .... Knowing that the region's existing people where "Rivoire" and "Revere" established their families was also historically negative towards papists and "Nouvelle Francaise" probably added to the decision. C'est Bon Magnifique." JSGB        http://www.huguenot.netnation.com/general/

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenot

We should not forget that the majority of changes in surname spellings during the colonial period were simply the result of what's known loosely as "free spelling". During the period, court clerks and others who wrote the records were predominantly of English origin, and folks of non-English origins pronounced names in a way that suggested very different spellings to the record keepers. Wanting to assimilate, folks simply began to accept these different spellings. Of course, there is also the fact that many folks of the period didn't read or write and wouldn't even know how a name should be written. Then, by the time their children or grandchildren became literate, the new spellings were "set in stone" so to speak.
Also should have said Jerry's advice is perfect. LNAB should always be what it would have been at time of birth, and new spellings should be listed as Current Name.

2 Answers

+7 votes
 
Best answer

From Wikipedia, "...His father, a French Huguenot born Apollos Rivoire, came to Boston at the age of 13 and was apprenticed to the silversmith John Coney.[4] By the time he married Deborah Hitchborn, a member of a long-standing Boston family that owned a small shipping wharf, in 1729, Rivoire had anglicized his name to Paul Revere. "

Since Paul Revere's father changed the spelling, it would seem OK to spell it that way. It's still interesting that the father was a French Huguenot and that the spelling of his name was originally different. 

by Frank Gill G2G Astronaut (2.5m points)
selected by Maggie N.
I agree with Frank Gill.

 However , I think that it is essential to continue to link both names historically and genealogically.

French Huguenots during that period often changed their family surnames when they migrated or fled to other regions or countries for political, religious, security and family distinctive reasons. The French family  surnames I'm researching believed it was important to distinguish their protestant versus catholic religious beliefs while also "assimilating" a surname spelling that would be advantageous and in accordance with the region's or country's culture they had migrated to. New England at the time of Paul Revere was both major protestant and English, ( Eastern England British especially,) majorities. An example of Huguenot research for "Barbeau" will find many of the families fleeing to Britain changing their surname spelling to, "Barbot." .... Knowing that the region's existing people where "Rivoire" and "Revere" established their families was also historically negative towards papists and "Nouvelle Francaise" probably added to the decision. C'est Bon Magnifique.     

   http://www.huguenot.netnation.com/general/

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenot

Jerry,

The profile referenced (Revoire-1) already shows his name to be

"Apollos (Paul) Revere formerly Revoire"

The text block reads:

Paul Revere (original name Apollos Rivoire) (1702-1754) born in Riocaud in 1702, was sent by his family to the New World in 1715. Arriving in Boston in early 1716, Apollos was apprenticed to the English-speaking goldsmith John Coney. Following Coney's death in 1722, Apollos set up his own shop in Dock Square (today's Faneuil Hall). Some time in the 1720's he anglicized his name, first to Paul Rivoire, then to Paul Revere, the name he gave his oldest son. He married Deborah Hitchbourn* (1704-1777) in 1729.

What else would you like to include to make this "continue to link both names historically and genealogically."?  Do you think that what happened to his name is unclear from this narrative?

If so, how about this text?

Apollos Rivoire was a French Huguenot who emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 13 (calculated circa 1715). He was apprenticed to the silversmith John Coney.[1] With his marriage to Deborah Hitchborn, he became allied to the established Hitchborn family who owned a Boston shipping wharf. In 1729 Rivoire anglicized his name to Paul Revere.[2]

Paul and Deborah had twelve children. Their third born, also named Paul Revere, was apprenticed to his father at the age of 13 and became a silversmith in his father's footsteps. The younger Paul Revere became a patriot in the American Revolution famous for his "Midnight Ride".[3]

That is the bio text on profile Revere-87 which is already matched to be merged into Revoire-1. Once the merge is actually complete, the text can be cobbled together, edited. Et voila! Nous sommes finis.

 

 

 

 

+5 votes
To be accurate, fill the Last name at birth field with "Revoire" and the Current last name field with "Revere".

Also, I discovered a duplicate profile for this man and initiated a merge if you'd like to follow up on it. :-)
by Living Britton G2G6 Mach 1 (11.6k points)
edited by Living Britton
The jury is out here still on the REVERE/REVOIRE spelling for the LNAB for Paul's father only.

I want to go with what Frank Gill found - REVERE by the time he married.

Yet, I also wonder if I should leave the Revoire as the LNAB according as Loreta , Michelle, Jerry  mentioned.

""LNAB should always be what it would have been at time of birth, and new spellings should be listed as Current Name."

 

Can we take a vote ?
My vote:

If he was born in France and/or his birth/baptismal record spells his name Revoire that should go into the LNAB field.
Thanks, Helmut. I think most everyone would agree.

Wikipedia has Apollos Revoire under Paul Revere but we are not WikiPedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere

Hmmm.... I really don't understand why "the jury is out".

We have documentation that the man was born Apollos Rivoire.

We have more documentation showing his change of name and the dates of each change. So we KNOW his first and last names at birth, his "Current" name (or at least the one he used at the time of death) and we know the "Other" name he used between the two.

We have a style guide that stipulates into which fields each name should be placed to create a biography.

Aren't we done at this point?

 

 

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