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Old 01-30-2013, 08:04 AM
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Mike Mattsey
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 632
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Quote:
Originally Posted by z28jd View Post
I wrote someone asking about old yearbooks from my hometown, lots of family grew up in the town and went to the school there, so here is the question/answer copied from our ebay conversation:

Me: Hi, could you tell me if there is anyone with the last name Dreker in any of your Kearny yearbooks
Seller: There is one Decker
Me: My last name is Dreker, so I was looking for any Dreker relatives that may be in the yearbook. Thanks
Seller: Her name is Alice Decker

Notice I put the last name twice in the second response, then ended the conversation quickly when I realized I was fighting a losing battle
One of the first rules of genealogy: Learn all the different ways to spell your name incorrectly!

Not that this seller wasn't clueless, but it goes a long way to show why old census records are rife with errors in spelling and dates.
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