When I asked my husband about which ancestor he'd invite for dinner, he said, "That's easy. I'd ask my great grandfather to dinner so we could talk about the 's' added to the end of our name." I thought about what he said and agreed. Knowing the full story of how your name was changed and morphed into something different would make me feel more complete. I would love to tell you we know the full story, but alas, we do not. Here's what I do know.
You may have seen my previous posts about our Civil War Veteran, Nathan WOOD, and his dad, John WOOD. One of Nathan's sons was, William Estil WOOD, and one of his sons was Cecil Dale WOOD. No "s". No plural form. The single form. Just the material that forms the trunk of a tree or bush. The matter you use to burn a fire. The substance a woodworker uses to create furniture. However, I have always felt that adding an "s" gives you a different meaning. I picture a vast forest or a piece of land full of trees of all kinds---elm, walnut, tulip tree, maple, oak and pine---and a stream running through the middle. I love our name, by the way, but I digress....
The name change was initiated with Cecil Dale Wood, born December 7, 1904 in Owen County, Indiana. Below you can see his birth record I retrieved from the Owen County Health Department.
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| Cecil Dale Wood entry, Owen County, Indiana, Birth Records |
He was born with the name Wood, but somewhere around 1926, he simply added the "s" at the end of his name. He didn't do this legally (or at least I don't think he did.)
Cecil Dale's family moved to Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana somewhere around 1916 when Cecil Dale would have been about 12 years old. Cecil Dale appears in the 1920-1922 Bloomington City Directory for the first time and listed with his father and his brother, Dewey. All with the last name of WOOD. Cecil Dale stops appearing in the Bloomington City Directories around 1939.
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| Wood Entries for Caron's Directory of the City Bloomington, Indiana for 1920-1921-1922 |
When Cecil Dale marries Julia Antionette Richardson on May 1, 1926, his name is listed as Woods and he signs his name with an "s". He is 21 years old at the time of his marriage. This is the first time we see his name with an "s" at the end.
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| Cecil Dale Dale and Julia Richardson, Monroe County Indiana Marriage Record |
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| Signature as Dale Woods, signed twice on the Marriage Record |
However, there are some inconsistencies with the "s" at the end of the name. In the next census of 1930, he is listed as Dale Wood and living with Julia's parents.
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| 1930 US Census - Listing for Dale Wood |
Up until the 1936-1937, he is listed as Cecil D Wood, no "s", in the Bloomington, Indiana City Directories; however, in the 1938-1939 directory, he is listed with the "s" at the end.
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| Wood Entries for Caron's Directory of the City Bloomington, Indiana for 1938-1939 |
This is a few years prior to the family moving to Indianapolis, Indiana. And, it seems after they move to Indianapolis, the name is consistently, Woods.
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| Wood Entries for Polk's Indianapolis City Directory - Vol. 1942 |
I feel like I have to write about this topic so generations after ours know that the name change occurred. We know some bits and pieces, and I have gathered some facts surrounding the name change. There is also family lore that suggests that Cecil Dale and his brother did not get along or had a squabble, and Cecil Dale added the "s" so he would not be associated with his brother. I had heard that he did this when he moved to Indianapolis, but given the facts I found, I don't think this is necessarily the case. Below you see a picture of Cecil Dale and his brother. They don't really look like they hate each other, but who knows? This is just one photograph and one glimmer in time.
So, back to the original intent of the blog post. If you could invite someone to dinner and have a conversation about your family history, Brian and I would love to know more about why someone would choose to change their name. Back then, I guess you just decided to do it, and then just start writing your name differently and tell people your name has an "s" on the end of it. We couldn't imagine doing this today! I guess we may never know the full reason why Cecil Dale Wood wanted to be Cecil Dale Woods. But, we do know he changed his name, and it still lives on today in our names.
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| Cecil Dale Woods and his brother, Dewey Wood |
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| Cecil Dale Woods |
Sources
(No First Name Listed) Wood entry, Owen County, Indiana, Birth Records, H-6, Book H-6, 1904-1907: Page 9, Entry No. 6, Owen County Health Department, 86 East Market Street, Spencer, Indiana.
Caron's Directory of the City of Bloomington, Indiana for 1916-1917-1918: And Taxpayers of Monroe County (Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana: Caron Directory Co., 1918), 314 & 356, entry for Wood Estil W. (Martha); digital image, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://interactive.ancestry.com/2469/11569542/637300787?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/5907916/person/-1373818511/facts/citation/323805103860/edit/record : Downloaded 26 November 2016), lab r 726 S Rogers.
Caron's Directory of the City Bloomington, Indiana for 1920-1921-1922: And Taxpayers of Monroe County (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Caron Directory Co., 1922), 284 & 307, entry for Wood W Estil (Martha); digital image, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://interactive.ancestry.com/2469/10520751/528929146?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/5907916/person/-1373825559/facts/citation/660119774871/edit/record#?imageId=11621166 : Downloaded 29 November 2016), farmer r 1003 Howe.
Woods, Dale and Julia Richardson, (1 May 1926), Monroe County Indiana Marriage Records: Book 20, Page 231; Monroe County History Center, Bloomington, Indiana.
Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626), Year: 1930; Census Place: Bloomington, Monroe, Indiana; Roll: 619; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 4; Image: 9.0.
Caron's Bloomington, Indiana City Directory 1936-1937 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Caron Directory Company, 1937), 399, entry for Wood C Dale (Julia); [Format:lower], [Creator], [WebsiteTitle] ([URL] : [AccessType] [AccessDate]), formn r 922 W. 7th.
Caron's Bloomington, Indiana City Directory 1938-1939 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Caron Directory Company, 1939), page 405, entry for Woods Cecil D (Julia); [Format:lower], [Creator], [WebsiteTitle] ([URL] : [AccessType] [AccessDate]), r 1000 W 7th.
Polk's Indianapolis City Directory - Vol. 1942 (Indianapolis, Indiana: R.L. Polk & CO., Publishers, 1942), 1441, entry for Woods, Cecil D; digital image, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (Downloaded 29 November 2016), mach NYCSys r204 N Walcott.
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