NOVEMBER 06, 2021 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 giv...