Tip of the Day: Searching under variants of someone's name and its effects

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

OH MY GOSH!!!!  I found some AWESOME information today on William Henry Kopping (William Bennett Kopping's father) and his records!!!!  What I stumbled upon is his immigration record to the USA, I have been looking for this information FOREVER!!!  Well, not really for-ev-er since I have only started my search about 6 months ago, but STILL!!!  Those of you who are younger like me, you know how I feel :-p

So, back on topic after my excitement has been over joyously depicted in massive letters :)  How did I find this beautiful declaration of intention?  Well, here's the story (and what you will learn from it will be VERY helpful):

We were always told in training to "think outside the box."  It's VERY important to do so, because you never know what you'll find (such as today)!!  In search of William Henry Kopping, I noticed that his original marriage record was in 1903 (as noted in an earlier post I think) once with Gitta Nelson (who eventually died a few months later from pregnancy issues), and then later with Eva Grace Robarts (NOT Roberts!!) in 1906, with whom he had children with a few years following.  Well, on the first marriage record to Gitta, William's name is listed as Wilhelm Kopping!!  Note this: William and Wilhelm = same person.

Today I was just searching around, typing in William Kopping and similar ways to spell it on Ancestry.com and all the sudden I think to myself, "Hey Sterling, shouldn't you do a search for Wilhelm Kopping?"  So I go ahead and do it!!  I had NO idea that what I would soon find would throw me back on my seat, literally!!

Upon completion of the search, the first record to pop up was a naturalization record to the USA from 1911.  For anyone who knows what a naturalization record contains, you can see why I'm excited; for everyone else, I'll be glad to explain!!  A naturalization record to the USA (or anywhere else, I bet) may and most likely does contain the following information: the person's name, birth place, birth date, emmigration place and port, immigration place and port, parents and mother's maiden name, spouses and children (with locations and dates of births, marriages, etc.), physical description, and many, many other wonderful research aids for future searches!!!

So there you have it, today's lesson!!  ALWAYS be sure to search for not just the person's direct name, but similar versions the way is spelled AND other forms of names that sound or look alike to it!!!! 

So now you learned an invaluable lesson that could save you tons of time researching and looking for someone!!  And don't forget, if you ever have any problems, be sure to stop by the Mesa Regional Family History Center!!  We have a plethora of subscription websites you can access for free, plenty of search experts who could help you with virtually anywhere in the world, and an epic huge selection of books!!  Oh yeah, AND IT'S ALL FREE!!!!

There's my little shpeel for the day, I am very content and can go home happy :) :)  Someone's looking out for me and helping me find the wonderful deceased in this world, that's for sure!!