An obituary indicated that a pallbearer for a relative was Earl Trautvetter. The other pallbearers were individuals whose names I recognized as being nephews or nephews-in-law of the deceased. Then it dawned on me–the obituary was likely referring to my uncle that I always knew as “Babe.” His real name, which I knew but occasionally put in the back of my mind, was actually Carl. Earl was likely the result of someone misreading the initial “C” in his first name as an “E” or some other sort of typographical error. An additional difficulty with this error was that the incorrect name was one that I heard differently. It didn’t sound like Carl and so it took me a little bit longer to realize what had likely happened. Sometimes […]
If you use the full-text search at FamilySearch, have you considered searching for street addresses? There are many records in urban areas, particularly those the late 19th century and later, that may mention addresses. Naturalizations and passenger lists are other records that may contain an address. Read more about our full-text search webinar updated for 2026 here.
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