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From: "Aunt Lizzie's Trunk" <>
Subject: Re: [TGF] Name Variation, a name change or a priest who can't spell
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:38:32 -0400
References: <d359.2c34cf08.3cc44721@aol.com>
In-Reply-To: <d359.2c34cf08.3cc44721@aol.com>


Ann,

In my experience with Irish research, spelling of surnames is quite
variable, and pronunciation is the key, I believe. The Irish accent
could not have been uniform across the island in the 19th century, and
I'm sure it is not today, either. I have come to believe, as well, that
priests, though they may have been educated, and certainly better
educated than their parishioners on the whole, might not have been /well
/educated in the sense we would understand it today.

Similar to your family name, I have been researching a family called
Langan and found them in a US census as Lanning. I would also expect to
find them as Lanigan. My own father heard his family name pronounced
"Gallivan" when he visited his ancestral home. My great-grandfather
Cornelius Archdeacon was listed as Conorls Schegan (by a German-surnamed
enumerator) in Cincinnati in 1880, 5 years after his arrival from County
Cork. (Try finding that with a search engine!)

I have looked at the records at FamilySearch. For the most part the
handwriting appears very neat and very consistent. It appears to me that
the priest, Fr. Smith, made a neat copy of his records into this
register at some point. He then went back and signed each record with a
thicker pen, or darker ink, in larger handwriting. This "copying over"
introduces the possibility that he made transcription errors. In fact,
regarding the entry of Denis' baptism, the previous record is the
baptism of James, son of Wm. Quinn and Catherine Mackey. I would argue
that the surname "Quinn" for Hugh was caused by Fr. Smith losing track
of where he was in the old record while copying into the book. Also note
the entry for the baptism of Margaret McGuire, two records up from
James'. One of her godparents was named Anne Kesidy [Cassidy]. I'm sure
we could find many similar variations.

I have not researched in that region, so I can't suggest any other
records to look for, but I will say this. The matching of the church
records to birth order on censuses (note I did not say exact age) would
be a strong indication that you have the correct family. It is possible
that finding additional records for sons Dennis and Hugh might help you
with the ambiguity of the surname spelling and you may find variations
in reported ages similar to Catherine's.

If you are doing Irish research, however, you need to be comfortable
with ambiguity and inconsistency. :-)

Nora Galvin
Bridgeport, Connecticut

On 4/21/2012 1:23 PM, wrote:
> In researching my Lennon/Lannon/Linnon ancestors. I have discovered
> another name variation which has me somewhat puzzled.
> Catherine (Lennon) Douras was born 31 May 1846 according to her obituary,
> her death certificate has 21 June 1841 . The death certificate lists her
> father as Hugh Lennon. Census records have her born anywhere from 1841-1847.
> The majority are 1845-1847. I have found a baptism record in the Saint
> Philip's Catholic Church register from Richmond, Ontario, Canada that reads:
> 1845 June 25 Baptized Catherine born 31 May legitimate daughter of Hugh
> Linning and Catherine O'Neil sponsors Edward Moore& Mary O'Neil
> There is another record in the register that reads:
> 1838 July 15 Baptized Hugh born 21st June same year legitimate son of Hugh
> Lemming and Catherine O'Neil sponsors were Dennis O'Neil and Anne Short
> A third entry is:
> 1840 December 25th Baptized Dennis born 24 November same year legitimate
> son of Hugh Quinn and Catherine O'Neil sponsors Dennis O'Neil and Ann Ryan
> These images are available on Family Search in the Ontario Catholic Church
> Records for Carleton, Richmond, St. Philip. The first one is in Baptisms,
> marriages, burials 1845 -1868, image 6 and the last two are in Baptisms,
> marriages, burials 1836-1845, images 13& 20.
> Comparing the Canadian census records from 1842 and 1852, with these
> baptisms it appears that all three are children of Hugh Lennon/Linnen. The ages
> and given names match what is in the census records. There are not any Hugh
> Lemming's or Linnings in the census records for this area for that matter
> there aren't any Lemmings or Linnings at all. I have looked at the
> conformation lists and a list of parishioners and found no other Lemmings or
> Linnings. Currently I haven't found this name in connection with the location in
> any other record. I still have to search property, probate and other court
> records. There is a Hugh Lunny in Fitzroy in 1851 with a wife by the name
> of Susan there are no children in the household with the names Catherine,
> Hugh or Dennis.
> My question has anyone run into this kind of name variation? Would an
> Irish accent add a "g" to a surname? Is the priest's spelling that bad?
> Ann Gilchrest
> The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list.
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