A Jennerson by Any Other Name

by Kathleen (Katie) MacLeod Hanzeli

Mose’s Signature

I had the privilege of visiting Boston and went to the Massachusetts State Archives to do research.  I worked on finding information about my great-great-great-great grandfather, Moses Jennerson, who was born in Shirley, Middlesex, Massachusetts on or about 17 November 1755.  A note in the town records said he was “a waif cast in here” which means they have no clue where he came from - or how to spell his name.  Seth Chandler in his History of Shirley, claimed that there were only two spellings of the name.  He was mistaken as I’ve found four different spellings for Moses alone.  Later in life, his wife, Sarah taught him to read and write.  Until then, he skipped the spelling problems and simply made his mark.

Moses’ name in the book of
Revolutionary War soldiers.

I have learned over the years of researching my family history, that you cannot depend on name spelling, especially the further back one goes in time.  Spelling wasn’t standardized until the late 1800’s and it took a long time to happen.

Moses’ name in the same book of
 Revolutionary War soldiers -
spelled differently than before.

Remembering the spelling of a word wasn’t as easy as it sounds.  We modern days writers are educated from the time we are five years old to spell and we learn the words as we go, over the course of many years.  Our ancestors may not have had that opportunity.  The type of education of an educated writer played a part, too, but because there were differences in teaching, students were taught different spelling.

Moses’ name as recorded in one

 military record.

Writing what we heard was also fraught with challenges.  People spoke with different accents and different listeners would hear different things.  One of the reasons for differences were the varying languages that the new Americans spoke.  “Because of the assortment of languages in the new nation, residents placed little emphasis on standardization of spelling,” said Ellen Holmes Pearson, Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina.

Moses’ Name on the Shirley Town Hall Plaque
 commemorating the men who responded
 to the alarm of 19 April 1775

Noah Webster wanted to simplify and standardize spelling.  In 1783, he published his first speller and in 1828. he published his American Dictionary of the English Language.  It was in this dictionary that he introduced some standardized spellings.  He also wanted to differentiate American English from British English.  That is why we have “center” instead of “centre” and “theater” rather than “theatre.”  Other changes included parlor and color rather than parlour and colour.  Printers also began to standardize as it made the printing process more efficient.

Names were a different matter.  The owner of the name often couldn’t read or write therefore couldn’t tell the parish priest or town clerk how to spell his name when asking for the banns or registering the births of his children.  Those writing things down had varying backgrounds and put what they heard as best they could.   To add to the confusion, letters were misheard; P’s and B’s sounded alike as did I’s, IE’s, EY’s and Y’s.  Even if an owner could write his own name, he would often spell it differently each time.

Moses’ and wife Sarah’s names
on his pension packet
 - each spelled differently!!

What is to learned from all this confusion?  Just as you would read a town or county history, I recommend you read about spelling conventions used at the time you are researching.  Figure out as many ways of spelling your names as possible.  For example, “Jennerson” can be spelled as “Jenerson, Jinnerson, Jinerson, Janerson, Jannerson, Jeneson, Jenson, Jensen, and even Jenkins.  Most of the above I have found in one record or another when researching Moses.  Even though it may add hours to your fun, research every possible spelling, especially if you can’t find that lost marriage record.  I wish you much luck!

Sources:

Moses Jennerson’s Gravestone

1)  Ellen Holmes Pearson, Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville:  https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/25489
2)  Professor Suzanne Kemmer, Rice University, http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Histengl/spelling.html
3)  Genealogy.com:  https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/00000015.html
4)  Chandler, Seth, History of the Town of Shirley, Massachusetts, originally published 1883, reprinted by Higgenson Book Company, Salem, MA

© by Kathleen MacLeod Hanzeli, 2018