“I Cannot Make Out My Ancestor’s Name”

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Are you stumped because you cannot figure out your
ancestor’s name?

There can be several reasons for
this, including:

Someone had poor handwriting, and you cannot
read the name.
Only the first two initials were recorded, and
you have no idea what they stand for.
You only knew your ancestor’s nickname, you
would not recognize his name even if you saw it.

Perhaps some of these suggestions will provide clues to help
you:

Ask family members to check all the records they
have that may mention your ancestor (journals, personal histories, legal
documents).
If you find a name that is abbreviated or
illegible on a census, look for an earlier record of the same type. Maybe you will luck out and discover the full
name was recorded.
Try city directories, church records, or
archived school records.
Look for every newspaper obituary where your
ancestor may have been named.
Once you have exhausted one record type, try
other records. For example, birth,
marriage, and death records give additional opportunities for the same person
to be recorded.
Search the records for every child and sibling
to see if your ancestor’s name appears again on their records. Check the records that name parents and
spouses.
Find out if any other family members were given
the same name or if naming patterns can provide clues.
Submit a request for research to Genealogists.com. They have created one of the largest networks of professional genealogists in the world.