Francis Herbert GRAIL/Frank GRAIL (General)

by mrsbruso , Saturday, November 17, 2012, 18:42 (4391 days ago) @ eastville

The enumerator lists what they are told, or what they think they are told.

"Frank" is a very common nickname for Francis, and is likely what he was called.

In my own family, when their stepfather gave their names to the enumerator, Charles George, normally called Charlie, became "George", and Elizabeth Ann became "Bessie". It made them a bit tougher to find in the census.

Since the supporting documentation is consistent, I think you can probably safely assume that "Frank" is your Francis.

At some point, one of my husband's ancestors suddenly went from being Jean-Baptiste, with a wife named Flavie, to John, with a wife named Fanny. Their death certificates, with info filled out by the children who knew them as John and Fanny, are also at odds with their birth records.

So, transcription error, recording error or what may be, I think Francis Herbert, Francis Albert and Frank are all one in the same, based on other evidence. (Thanks, MP!)