Well, I am working on the book, but with great difficulty.
One problem encountered multiple times is German name variation, due to not only Anglicization. but also to changes in German spellings — “ö” has often become “oe” (e.g., Föll, Foell); “c,” “k” (Jakob, Jacob); “f,” “ph” (Christof, Christoph); etc. Name variants are often found in documents from the same era. And old German handwriting is difficult to read, even for people raised in Germany. For example, the name of Christoph (or Christof) Imles’s wife is transcribed as both “Maria Beata” and “Maria Berta” (both acceptable). And often names were used interchangeably, e.g., “Christiana,” “Christiane,” “Christina,” and “Christine.”
My great grandfather Imle's middle name is given in various documents as "Friedrich," "Fredrick," "Freidrick," "Frederich," and "Frederick." Which do I use? An important question since he eventually dropped his first name and went by his middle name.
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| Am I puzzled? You bet. |
