What's In A Name?
The progenitor of the family in North America recorded his name as Charles Woolverton, but currently, you can find people who spell their last name both as Wolverton and as Woolverton. All are descended from the same common ancestor.
There are a number of his descendents who have changed the spelling of their last names; but not for a specific reason. The following have been noted:
- family quarrels or disassociations - a member of a family has quarrelled with siblilngs or parents (or even children) and has moved (either to a new area or even a new country) and then altered the spelling of their last name
- illiteracy - not all members of a family (especially on the frontier) were able to read and write. When the U.S. and Canada instituted censuses, names would have been recorded as they seemed to census-takers, unless the individuals being enumerated were able to correct them accordingly. This could also lead to other spelling variants of the name that have not yet been extensively explored (e.g. Wollverton, Wulverton, Overton, Wolferton, etc.)
- transcription errors - some genealogists have not been very careful when recording surnames, so you will encounter individuals who spelled their name one way but had it written in records the other way, or even both. When encountered, this has been noted where possible.
We have attempted to standardize the spelling of individual's names by using either grave markers or records from immediate family members (children, wills, marriage or death records).
It is assumed (although not yet able to be proven) that the family originated in England. Please see the Histories page for more information regarding this.