Genealogy: It's All In a Name

Or is it?

What does the name in the photo above look like to you?

Dew Nankin.

According to the 1810 census it's David Nankin.  The 1820 census has it as David Rankins. In another document it's David Ranking and on my family tree is Richard Rankin.

So which one is correct?

I'm going with David Rankin only because I have another source, the very reliable will of a Jonathan Gregory of South Carolina, who listed one of his heirs as Esther Rankin, wife of David Rankin.

Now let's look at Esther Gregory Rankin.  Who was she? Esther was the mother of one of my ancestors. She was born in South Carolina and appeared on the 1830 census in Edgefield, South Carolina as Easter Rankin, head of household.  During the 1830's David disappeared off of the radar and Esther ended up in Simpson County, Mississippi. The first time she appeared in Simpson county records was on the 1834 tax lists.  She was listed as Hester Rankin and so follows the pattern of name changes between Esther, Hester, and Easter throughout census and tax lists up until the 1860 census where in her late seventies she disappeared from the records.

So why so many name changes?

David and Esther Rankin were like so many people during the 19th century.  They were illiterate. They didn't know how to spell their names so they depended on the literate census takers to get it right. That's the thing though, sometimes the census taker didn't get it right because while many of them were literate, there were some who were only partially literate and just made it up as they went along which could explain the Hester, Esther, and Easter variations.

And let's not forget about the changes in dialect. The census takers had to go with what they heard which could mean anything really. Many locations have a distinct dialect, the south is no different so in South Carolina Esther Rankin may sound different than it would in Mississippi. Even within the same state, David Rankin might sound like David Ranking.

Frustrated yet?

Not really.  Just keep an open mind and remember that a name may change several times. While combing through records, write down the different name variations, and keep searching for them. ALL of them. Eventually you will find success. Our ancestors want to be found.  They have stories to tell.