6

I have located my grandfather's Michigan death certificate from 1939.

Following his father's name is the abbreviation "(O.K.)". What does that mean?

enter image description here

Harry V.
  • 18,850
  • 5
  • 46
  • 98
David Bartlett
  • 61
  • 1
  • Welcome to G&FH SE! As a new user be sure to take the [Tour] to learn about our focussed Q&A format which is quite different from bulletin boards, discussion forums and other Q&A sites you may be used to. – PolyGeo Aug 16 '16 at 21:21
  • 2
    Possible the "ok" is meant to confirm the field entry, since the father's surname is not the same as the son's. Will check further in case there is another meaning used on the linked record. – bgwiehle Aug 17 '16 at 02:26
  • Thanks. Your explanation relates to an area that I've been stumped on. I can find no record to explain the difference. – David Bartlett Aug 17 '16 at 16:07
  • 1
    There is an [edit] button beneath your question that you can use to supply additional details to your question at any time. – PolyGeo Aug 19 '16 at 02:16

1 Answers1

1

According to the information on the death certificate:-

your grandfather:- Irwin Blake
his father      :- Charles Johnson - Swedish
his mother      :- Augusta Svenson

I'm am wondering why his surname is Blake as it doesn't seem to have any correlation with either of his parents.

It's not Johnson,Charles or Charleson as you might expect. And similarly with his mother or something assigned on entry(as he's born in the U.S.A) - apologies to Bruce.

Looking at other questions and their answers. I found that the United States follows the common law, where it is okay to change your name as long as you aren't doing it for fraudulent intent -- all you have to do is begin using the new name. Perhaps that is the case in this instance.

this is found here:-

Name Changes in New York City during 1830s?

and has other information regarding name changes.

Paul
  • 86
  • 4
  • 1
    If you have a follow-up question, and ask it is a new question. Welcome to genealogy and family history stackexchange! – Ellen Spertus Aug 05 '18 at 03:47