Additional note on the spelling of a name...

I suspect this is an uncomfortable subject. When I showed my dad the photo of his grandfather's headstone, he said the name was misspelled. On the backs of photos I have of both Jacob Irven and Jacob Irven Sr, my grandmother's or aunt's handwriting spells out 'Jacob Irvin'. Even when Mary/Violet was buried (or perhaps it was later), someone noted in the cemetery records that she was the wife of Jacob Irvin. On the notes for HIS cemetery record, his name is spelled Irvin. And yet when his name was engraved into the headstone (presumably at the same time hers was), it was spelled Irven. (Though countless transcriptions of Rimersburg cemetery, where someone was standing there, looking at the headstones and writing down the inscriptions, spell it Irvin.)

Also of note, his adopted son Malcom and daughter-in-law Laura named their first child Irven.

In other family histories and pedigree files, I've seen it spelled Irvin and Irwin.

So. Was his name really misspelled on his headstone? Is grandson Irven's name an unfortunate typo? How can we know how Jacob himself spelled his name? Are there any records where he actually wrote his name?

So glad you asked, because YES! There are records where HE WROTE HIS NAME! I have both a signature and printed in capital letters, the latter being the most compelling. I present my most compelling piece of name-spelling evidence:

This is his own writing, filling out his WWII draft registration card (at age 55), running out of room for that long last name, and squeezing the 'Jr' in tiny at the end. (BTW, I'll share the rest of the image soon, when I get that far in my narrative of his life...) Since he's a 'Junior,' we can pretty safely assume that his father spelled it the same way.

So how did we come to so widely and steadfastly misspell his name? I have no idea. But if you've been spelling it Irvin, don't feel bad--you're not alone. Outside of original records, this blog and my own notes, I've never seen it spelled Irven. The snafu might originate in another line completely, with someone researching Jacob Irven, Sr., who set the spelling precedent that every researcher since has followed without question. Who knows.

All I know is I'm going to spell it as he/they did.