Posts in December 26, 2025

Names are one thing about an ancestor that sometimes can be more fluid than we would like them to be. Research would be easier if a person just stuck with one name–even if it was not their birth name. I have a great aunt whose birth name was Adolphena Katherine Trautvetter. As a child she went by “Kate” and as an adult she went by “Pheenie.” It’s possible that her diminutive of “Kate” was chosen for her by someone else and that “Pheenie” was the one she chose to use as an adult. I was fortunate that the origin of the diminutives was fairly clear. That’s not always the case.