There’s a difference between nicknames and diminutives. Diminutives are variations on a name that are based upon the sounds in that name. Bill, Billy, Will, etc. are diminutives for William. Calling the same person “Red” because his hair is read is using a nickname. Calling him “hotheaded Bill” is technically both Using the name Kate, Kat, or Kathy in reference to someone named Katherine is also using a diminutive. Referring to my low-German ancestor Trientje by the name Katherine is not using a nickname or a diminutive. In this case it is a anglicization (translation into English) of the name Trientje. Your non-English speaking ancestors “new names” may not have been nicknames or diminutives at all–they could have been translations of their actual name.
While practices can vary, property leases are typically not recorded. Copies of the lease are kept by all parties involved, but usually the only time a lease could be “recorded” if there is an issue with the lease itself, some disagreement involving the lease, or if the terms of the lease are unexpired at the death of one of the parties involved. One ancestor was renting property when he died in Illinois in 1877 and that agreement was included as evidence in his estate settlement. In another case there was a disagreement over the terms and the lease was recorded as evidence. Usually if there are no “issues” with a lease, there’s no reason to have it recorded. And…in these cases the agreement was not really “recorded” like […]
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