Is Idabell really her first name?

Question

I saw her name given as Idabell in some online family trees, and asked my mother if that was really her grandmother's name. She was very insistent that it was just Ida, she was never known as Idabell.

I did a search on FamilySearch just now, and she is Ida or Ida M. in the 1880 census, marriage record with Charles S. Slack, death record for her son Solomon Slack, mother of the bride for daughter Gladys Slack. Are there any documented sources for the name Idabell?

Answer 1

Hi, probably it won't be of help but I have the same problem with my great grandfather. In our family grave where he's buried he is named Luigi and everyone in my family always told me so but on my great aunt's birth certificate he appears as Vittorio. I got told by members here that it's possible that a person especially that back in time went by different names or name spellings. Probably she was registered as Idabell in the census but everyone called her Ida. You'd better insert "Idabell" in her profile as other name.

Comments

Personally, I would remove it if there isn't a source behind it and then make a research note. On FamilySearch I see a plethora of records and not one has Idabell in it. Find A Grave has Idabell (without a source) and her cemetery marker has Ida on it. It may have come from somewhere real or it may be an error. You don't want to help perpetuate a fiction, just to be "safe".

---

You're right in this case. I just told what I did with my great grandfather but my case is different (he has a name on his grave and a different one in his daughter's birth certificate)

---

Thanks Dina, that’s my feeling too!