The trouble with names.

I've already indicated that, on the Weldon side of the family there are various soundex issues with the surname, Weldon, Wheldon and Welding all come to the surface during research.

There's not just trouble with surnames, as for some reason, there was a definite trend towards people having different and unique first names, that confuse the research process.

This can be demonstrated with the previos couple, John Edward Edwards and Betsey Cottrill, the names that appear on the actual wedding and birth certificates.

There are family Photo's with other spellings of this family name. Her daughter, my mum, Dorothy, wrote "Nan Cotterell" on the reverse of a photo. Another, in pencil, has "Cottrell" or "Coltrell" whereas Betsey's birth Certificate appears to be Cottrill, her Wedding certificate was Cottrill and Dorothy's birth certificate is Cottrill.

As for her first name, the Marriage Certificate is Betsy, there is a signed photo saying "Yours Sincerely Betty" which is reinforced on the back with the inscription "To John, with fondest love from your own, Betty", her daughter Dorothy's birth certificate is Betsey and the her own death certificate is Betsey. To add another twist, there is a photo of a young soldier, on the back it says "To Bess and Jack with lots of good wishes, Bill" - using two names that are likely to be aka for John and Betsey.

I always knew my Grandad as Jack Edwards, but in fact his true name was John.

All wrinkles in the process that make this type of research very interesting.