I'm going to have a little moan

[Terri]

About great grandfather James Harris.

It's annoying enough when ancestors randomly use their middle names instead of their first names on census etc., but even more annoying when they just adopt a middle name that they were never entitled to!

Great Grandfather's birth was registered as James Harris.
He joined, and left, the Army as James Harris.
But he married as James "Augustus" Harris.
("Augustus"!!! fgs, where did that come from?? )
He obviously liked his new middle name so much, that he handed it on to his son.

Every bit of info and certificate I have suggest that James Harris and James Augustus are one and the same person, but I cannot shake that element of doubt! It's driving me nuts. I could slap him! Moan over, thank you for listening!

[kiterunner]

I have a few people in my tree who seem to have given themselves a middle name too, Terri, the most annoying one being my 2xg-grandfather John "Robert" Galway. I started out thinking he would be so easy to trace, having a middle name, but it turned out he started out as just plain John Galway and I've still got nowhere with him.

[Nell]

Not sure which is most annoying

1. relative who changes name
ie ex's gt x 2grannie, who decided Rose was too plain and became Rosella
his gt x 2 granddad (not Rose's husband) who is Dennis McCarty, then McCarthy, then James McCarthy then James Carter. His children are either McCarthy or Carter as the whim takes them.

or rellie who swaps name
Eliza Ellen Broad becomes Ellen Broad [I think, but can't prove Ellen in 1891 and 1901 is my Eliza!]

or rellie who uses two different names
ie ex's gt x 3 grandpa who is Solomon on his first marriage cert, Zalig on his 2nd, Solomon on his son's brith cert, Zalig on son's marriage cert; and Solomon Zalig Hart on his death cert - on censuses he is interchangeably Solomon or Zalig.

or the rellie who has a distinguishing middle name at birth, ie Emily Kezia Ledger, who marries as Emily Ledger so you have to get the marriage cert to prove its the right Emily!

The most annoying ones though, are ones where you can only assume or guess its the same person, there's no way you can be definite.

What's in a name? A tremendous amount!!

[Shazza34]

I have the problem with my married name - I married ArMfield, his fathers certs all have the M but further back it becomes N all the conections are correct but it's so annoying !!!