In an age before most everyone was literate, spelling and grammar didn’t count for much – and that went for people’s names as well.
Week 41: Changes
In my family tree, I’ve recorded my maternal 2nd great grandmother as Phoebe Ann (Yoders) Millhouse. She was born 1 November 1873 in Woodruff, Marshall County, West Virginia to parents Samuel Zachariah Yoders and Lucinda Ott. She was one of at least 13 children. Out of a brood that big, you’re bound to get somewhat overlooked, and perhaps part of that plays into the fact that Phoebe’s name on records never seems super solid.
While I personally determined the “official” spelling of her name to be Phoebe Ann Yoders, I know that there’s no right answer. Depending on the informant and their literacy, their preference, her preference, and their circumstances, Phoebe’s name tended to change a lot over the years.
In 1880, at the age of 6, she was enumerated on the federal census as Pheby A. Yoders – likely information given by her mother, Lucinda, who was keeping house at the time and could not read or write. Of course, her father Zachariah, who was literate and was a farmer, may have also been the one to contribute this record.
1880 U.S. federal census, Liberty, Marshall, West Virginia, enumeration district 187, p. 38C, family no. 5252, Zachariah Yoders household; database with digital images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 6 Nov 2021); NARA, roll 1407.
In 1894, she was married to my 2nd great grandfather, David Samuel Millhouse. Their marriage license was populated by hand and the print was quite legible. The handwriting made it clear that Phoebe, at this time, was now going by the name Annie (likely, her middle name). But reinforcing the fact that spelling didn’t matter to people in this decade, her maiden name was input as Yodis, rather than Yoders.
Marshall County, West Virginia, marriage license, Millhouse-Yodis, 3 Oct 1894, p. 470; database with digital images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 6 Nov 2021).
One can assume they did not require a bride or groom to submit proof of identity when filing a marriage application in those days, otherwise, they may have caught the discrepancy. Plus, it was recorded as Yodis three times on the form with no scratch outs, implying she never reviewed the license or cared to correct them – she very well may have not known how to spell her own name at the time.
Over the next 4 decades, the federal censuses all recorded her name as either Anne or Anna, another variation on her middle name. And her daughter, Lucinda, named her as Annie Yoder on her 1922 marriage license.
Joseph W. Haines, photo of Anna and David Millhouse headstone, 16 Jun 2021; online database with digital images, FindAGrave (https://findagrave.com : accessed 6 Nov 2021), memorial ID 178281224; Fall Run Cemetery, Marshall County, West Virginia.
My guess is she preferred Anna, as that is what her family eventually engraved on her headstone and what was listed as the maternal name on all of her children’s birth registration records, but Phoebe was likely her given legal name, as her state death record reported that name on 10 May 1938 in McMechen, Marshall County, West Virginia. It’s a bit surprising she opted for Anna/Annie/Anne considering I believe David had a 1st wife named Annie J. May and one of her sons, Harry, married another Anna/Annie. Going by Phoebe would have been much easier on everyone, I’d imagine!
I am in possession of a notice of public assistance from the State of West Virginia which gives yet another variation on the spelling of her name: Annie Phobey Millhouse. Plus, I have a couple of her and her husband David’s original land deeds which stick with Annie.
West Virginia State Department of Public Assistance, reimbursement agreement release to Annie Phobey Millhouse, 28 Sep 1937, Marshall County, West Virginia.
So changes were certainly abound for dear Phoebe, but what’s clear is she was definitely Grandma Yoders Yoder…okay, maybe even that isn’t clear!
Phoebe Ann Yoders, Woodruff, West Virginia.
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