What’s In A Name?
Actually, quite a bit. I want you
to meet Andrew A. Dahl, from Danetown, Santiago Township, Sherburne County,
Minnesota. He was born in Denmark, in
1857. His father was Anders Jorgenson
Dahl. As was the custom in Denmark,
Andrew’s last name then became Anderson.
Andrew immigrated to the United States in 1879 and quickly settled in
Sherburne County.
All of this back story is important because
Andrew and his wife Mary settled in Danetown.
There was an abundance of Andersons living in the area. So much so, that produce checks from the Minneapolis
markets to the farmers often got mixed up and delivery became very confused.
The story goes: Andrew, in an effort to simplify
his life and insure that he received his produce checks, legally changed his
name to Dahl. This name change occurred
sometime after 1900. The court record
continues for a generation when at least one of his four surviving children had
to again visit the court and petition for a name change on the birth
certificate. Frank Dahl, born in 1901
under the name Frank Anderson, received a court order to change his name on all
documents, beginning with a birth certificate and continuing forward.
This is an interesting story for a variety of
different reasons. For the benefit of
family historians and local historians, keep in mind that name changes are an
important consideration in the research.
It also puts an end to the assumption that every Anderson, Olson,
Peterson, and every other common name individual is related. Names are vital to historic study, but we
can’t accept, or reject, every name based on a first read glance.
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