GENBOX-L Archives

Archiver > GENBOX > 2004-07 > 1089488121


From: Michel Vuijlsteke <>
Subject: Re: [GENBOX] Unknown surname
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 21:35:21 +0200
References: <40EB732D.5020700@comcast.net>
In-Reply-To: <40EB732D.5020700@comcast.net>


When I don't know the surname I don't enter it. So when my source says
something like "John witnessed the birth of his niece Jane Doe ", I
enter "John //" for the witness name.

I often encounter surnames I can't read in the source. Then I enter
whatever I *can* read, and elide the rest, and I end up with "Joannes
/Vande.../" or "Petrus /Den ...ter/".

I source all name variations I enter, because when I find the same
name in multiple source documents, I can often "triangulate" the
correct name.

Does this answer your question? Or were you looking for something else?

Michel

On Tue, 06 Jul 2004 22:51:09 -0500, Don Zochert <> wrote:
> I'd welcome ideas for dealing with persons whose surnames are unknown.
>
> Muchas gracias,
>
> Don
>
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