Handwriting of our Ancestors  

CHANGING NAMES

Since the colonization of America in the early 1600's it has been a common practice for individuals, and especially immigrants to change their names. However, it was not until the mid-19th century or later that people were required to officially register their changed names in a court of law. (An examination of the Enumeration Returns for the 1890 Census of Veterans and Widows of the Wars reveals that hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women entered the United States Armed Forces under one name, and sometime after their military obligation was up, the census indicated that they had lived under an assumed name or names.) It's not uncommon to find individuals listed under three or four names. We give the following examples:

Edward Brown	alias Ed Benson
Jonathan Williams	alias John Wilson
Benjamin Green	alias Benjamin Hanks
Margaret Benson	alias Sarah Timms
Fredrick Johnson	alias Aaron Carter
Catharine Welsh	alias Eliza Robinson
James T. Lockhart	alias Thomas Smith