Why Sources Are Important

Question

There used to be a profile for "Constance Seaven Taylor" who lived in colonial Virginia.  You could do an internet search for that name, and get a number of hits from the major online popular genealogies all with the same odd name.  Constance Seaven Taylor.  What an odd middle name, one might think.  But one gets no explanation.

Until you finally locate a copy of her father's will, in which her father says, I give to my daughter Constance seaven head of catle."

Seaven is no longer her middle name!

Good sources can tell you things!

Comments

Thank you for that Jack, most educational, extremely helpful

Answer 1

Great example. You can see these all the time. Thanks for posting.

Answer 2

I missed this! Very nice example.

My own favourite example is Ingrid Andersdotter, originally Andersdotter-Barnsmorka-1, where her occupation as midwife - Barnmorska in Swedish - had been made into a surname.