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ArchivesInterchangeable name - Sarah / Jemima
Hello - I wonder if anyone can help me. Amongst my ancestors I appear to have a mother AND daughter who both seem to use both Sarah and Jemima as their name in different censuses. Has anyone seen this before? Is it a known alternative?
Thanks
Sue Restell
Thanks
Sue Restell
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Replies
Which census years?
Are you sure that they weren't alternating between their first & middle names?
Are you sure that they weren't alternating between their first & middle names?
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Hello Sue,
I also have the same question about my great grandmother's sister on my Family History tree. She was christened Jemima Guest, and Jemima Lovell then appears on her Marriage certificate when she married Edward Lovell. But she is also often referred to as Sarah Lovell, although I know that she is the same person.
You are the first person I have found who has questioned this anomaly, so I do hope to hear from you and also anyone else who can tell us both why these names seem interchangeable. Thank you, Christine
I also have the same question about my great grandmother's sister on my Family History tree. She was christened Jemima Guest, and Jemima Lovell then appears on her Marriage certificate when she married Edward Lovell. But she is also often referred to as Sarah Lovell, although I know that she is the same person.
You are the first person I have found who has questioned this anomaly, so I do hope to hear from you and also anyone else who can tell us both why these names seem interchangeable. Thank you, Christine
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Yes, mistakes are rampant in old census records. Names, ages, birthplaces, etc. Especially if the record is a transcript from an original record. The more transcriptions the more things get lost in translation.
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Yes I do wonder if it could be a mix up. I don't know whether the 1861 enumerators took details verbally (in which case he could quite easily have mixed up the mother and daughter's names) or if the householder filled out a form like in 1911 (in which case it would have been harder to mix them up). I just wondered if Jemima and Sarah were 2 versions of the same name - sort of like Elizabeth and Betty.
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