Which Crandall was it who decided to change his name to Crandell?

Question

Who was it who done did it?

Answer 1

If you are asking about which generation a formal name change occurred in your direct line then if it is anything like the names in my tree then it probably was not decided by anyone. Spelling variants just happened depending on who was writing a record.

Answer 2

It happened spontaneously across the US, especially when the Crandalls left the north east. John Crandell, for example, was "Crandell" in the census and "Crandall" on his marriage record. His suspected father (no proof linking the two) has his name as "Crandle" on his land purchase record in Indiana and the Census in Indiana, but Crandall on his census in New York.

If I had to guess, with your family, it was the transition of New York to Indiana that caused the switch. I know how I pronounce the name probably would make it sound like "Crandle" or "Crandall" to someone outside of the NY area. All you need is a few people in government writing down what they here and your ancestor going "... ah forget it" instead of arguing over the spelling.

Answer 3

It sometimes happened in the other direction as well. The town of Crandall, Manitoba was named in honor of Dr. Byron Crandell, who had served as physician to many of the workers constructing the railroad in the area. They took the more common spelling when naming the town.

Dr Crandell's father, Reuben Crandell, and Reuben's brother Benjamin used the -ell spelling and most if not all of their descendants did as well. One of Benjamin Crandell's descendants, E. H. Crandell, was a prominent businessman in Calgary and is the person for whom Mount Crandell, in Waterton Lakes National Park, is named.

Reuben and Benjamin emigrated from Saratoga, New York to Canada in the early 1800s but little is known about their parents or what spelling they used.