This early 18th century estate settlement spells the word “heifer” as “effer” and it makes a good point about initial letters.
There are letters that sometimes simply get dropped when a name is written. The problem is compounded when the dropped letter is the very first one.
- Hoffman becomes Aufman or Offman
- Knight becomes Night
- Habben becomes Abben
- and so it goes…
The heifer does not care whether it is called a heifer or an effer. Your ancestor may not have cared that his last name was written as Aufman instead of Hoffman. But you will care–when you can’t find them.
2 Responses
Also remember regional accents. Try saying the name in the accent of the area the family came from and to find alternate ways of spelling family names. For example in my tree I have Arscott/ Alscott, with numerous permutations, understandable spellings if said with a Devon accent.
That’s a good point and if a person doesn’t know what that accent would sound like, try and find out. There are Facebook groups and other online genealogy groups where questions of that type can be asked for those who are unaware of those pronunciation issues.