Last Name At Birth difference in merges

Question

A recent merge (today) made me think about how to approach merges with different LNAB's. First off, the merge was ok and needed to be done. It may even be that the post-merge LNAB is the correct one, but there are no primary sources cited and the explanation given was

It looks like a simple mistake, because Legault is the last name of his father so that is the correct last name at birth.

This is not a complaint about this particular profile or merge, just a caution about how we determine LNAB's. I think it is a little too facile to conclude for an early 18th century record that the LNAB of the child must be the same as that of the father without consulting primary records.

Answer 1

Great question, Helmut!  I've struggled with that issue myself.  With no sources, or only second-hand references to someone's compiled tree, it is impossible to know which name is accurate.  When it is just a spelling issue, I add the other spelling in the Other Last Name(s) field and add a note at the top of the Biography section to indicate that a source is needed for the last name.  When there are two different names, such as in your example, I avoid the merge because I don't know what the correct LNAB is, and I don't want to create a possible incorrect redirect.  One time I rejected a merge request and stated that the profile needed a source to prove the correct LNAB first.  I received a stern message from the profile manager who stated that I should "just merge" and let her do the sourcing later.

I hope someone can provide us with a better solution.

Answer 2

Isn't this more of a policy issue about dit names?  Wrong reason but right result.

His father was Legeau in his marriage record, for what that's worth.  Perhaps he was Danish and made of little plastic bricks.

Comments

I tried not to make it about this particular profile but about the line of argument: his father's name was such, therefore his name is the same. There are plenty of examples where that is not the case.

Answer 3

The basic protocol adopted by the New Netherland Settlers project a long time ago (before I joined) is to:

• Place a templated notice on the profiles urging people not to merge the profiles until a LNAB can be determined (for an example, see Consalus-2)
• Post messages on the profile or start a G2G discussion to outline the options for the LNAB, the evidence or rationale for picking your preferred LNAB (if you have a preference), and asking others to concur or provide advice (one example is http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/65776/what-is-the-correct-last-name-at-birth-trieux-de-trieux-trieux )

The New Netherland Settlers project has some unusually complicated challenges with names, but a similar approach makes sense for other situations where LNAB isn't clear.

Answer 4

How to determine LNAB with the primary records ...

Birth: Jean Baptiste Legault (le gau)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L99S-FH51?i=174&wc=9RLH-N36%3A17417001%2C17417002%2C17417003&cc=1321742

Marriage: J Baptiste Legot dit Deslaurier
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99S-FHKY?i=311&wc=9RLH-N36%3A17417001%2C17417002%2C17417003&cc=1321742

Marriage: Jean Baptiste Legau Deslauriers
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L99S-FH3J?i=399&wc=9RLH-N36%3A17417001%2C17417002%2C17417003&cc=1321742

Death: Jean Baptiste Legos
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L99S-2K5C?i=98&wc=9RLC-K6V%3A24054401%2C24054402%2C24438001&cc=1321742

The names are written phonetically.
The spelling used for this person is different but the pronunciation is the same.

For earlier ancestors the spelling of a name was not standardized.

Last Name at Birth

It is usually the formal name as it appears in official documents at the time of birth. However, it may not be exactly what appears in a birth record if:

There was a spelling mistake or error in the document, or if the family name was more commonly spelled in a different way at the time of the birth.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Name_Fields#Last_Name_at_Birth

The 'DIT' Name

"Dit" names should not go in this field (LNAB). They can go in the Current Last Name, Other Last Name, as appropriate.

Last Name at Birth: Legault
Current Last Name: Legault dit Deslauriers

 

edit: add link

 

PRDH - Variant of the the standard name Legault
https://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/Dico/Nom/legault

PRDH - Variant of the the standard name Deslauriers
https://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/Dico/Nom/deslauriers

Comments

link

https://www.prdh-igd.com/fr/dico/Nom/legault

https://www.prdh-igd.com/fr/dico/Nom/deslauriers