Person talk:Jan Claeszen (1)

Name change [28 November 2012]

If no one objects, I would like to change the spelling of Jan's name. The few records which are known for him do use the Dutch spelling of "Jan", not the more German spelling "Jans" or "Hans". People looking for him are more likely to find him under the correct spellings. Any objections?--Renee Dauven 18:00, 27 November 2012 (EST)

No objections, presuming some measure of evidence for 'Jan'. In my mind, 'Jans' is the patronymic, not the first name. (But that's mainly in Friesland and Groningen; other provinces use Jansen or other variants.) I'm very happy that someone who seems to have access to real sources is taking an interest in working on the New Amsterdam section of WR. BTW, feel free to delete unsourced reference numbers. --Pkeegstra 18:16, 27 November 2012 (EST)

    Ok.  If I hear from no one else, I'll make the change in a day or so.  Tomorrow I have to finish the Flatbush film.
    What exactly is the "reference number"?  What is it numbering, the individual or an event or a relationship?  How does one access them to find out what the source might be, or to add a source if one has it?
    And, yes, I do have some sources which I hope to be adding as I figure out how to do them.--Renee Dauven 22:37, 27 November 2012 (EST)

Everything I know about those numbers is from a lengthy discussion on one of the talk pages. Unfortunately, like a lot of very interesting discussions on WR, it's not easy to locate. I'll ask Jennifer. As I understand it, the numbers are based on one or more attempts to use automated processing to merge multiple personal trees into a unified entity, and the end result is generally viewed with considerable skepticism. You may also find people (especially in the New Amsterdam section of WR) with death date ranges of 90+ years from these analyses. --Pkeegstra 06:38, 28 November 2012 (EST)

     Thanks.  I will see what I can do.  These pages are rather addictive, aren't they?--Renee Dauven 12:44, 28 November 2012 (EST)