Be sure to check all variants of a name

By Stefani Evans

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

Names aren't always what we think they should be.

A friend wished to find record of her relative, Giovanni Battista Polli's (1888−1951) entry into the United States. My friend said that Polli, son of Giuseppi Polli (1855−1942) and Giuseppina Maganzini (1866−1922), was a knife grinder born in Giustino, near Trento, Italy. He entered the United States around 1920 or 1921. He married Lucia Bassi in August 1923 in New York City the day after she arrived from Italy. The couple raised three children (names I withhold for privacy reasons) in Bayonne, N.J. As far as my friend knew, her relative Giovanni was the only one of his generation to come to the United States.

My computer-savvy friend had searched fruitlessly for Giovanni's passenger manifest, even though she knew the port he entered, the time frame, his age and his name. In fact, she couldn't find him in any database. Turns out Giovanni Polli could be the poster child for interchangeable names. In three post-1920 records, he used three variations of his name. Since my friend searched the databases only for Giovanni's exact name, she overlooked his entries.

Giovanni arrived in the United States March 19, 1921, at New York harbor (Ellis Island) aboard the Pesaro as "Battista Polli," a 34-year-old, single, male knife grinder from Giustino, Italy, whose final destination was New York City. The record names his father, Giuseppe Polli, of Giustino, as his nearest relative in the country from whence he came. Battista Polli was 5 feet, 5 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes; he was going to New York to join his cousin Antonio Polli. The name of his father indicates that Battista Polli is my friend's relative. ("New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," Ancestry, http://www.ancestry.com, citing NARA T715, roll 2947).

In 1930, nine years after he first entered the country, Giovanni Battista Polli participated in his first decennial U.S. census enumeration. The census taker in Bayonne City 2nd Ward recorded my friend's relative as "Giovanni Battiste," a 42-year-old "grinder" in the cutlery business, who was born in Italy, entered the United States in 1921, and became a naturalized citizen in 1928. Giovanni's wife, "Lucy," was a 28-year-old alien resident born in Italy who entered the United States in 1923. The couple's three children match the names and ages given by my friend as her relatives. Although the surname Polli does not appear in this record, Giovanni's and Lucy's dates of immigration, the names of their three children, their Bayonne residence, their ages, and his occupation indicate this is the right couple (1930 U.S. census, Hudson County, New Jersey, Bayonne City 2nd Ward, ED 199, pages 17A-B, dwelling 132, family 334, Giovanni Battiste; Ancestry, http://www.ancestry.com, citing NARA T626, roll 1347).

On April 26, 1942, "John Batista Polli" registered in the fourth World War II draft (the "Old Man's Draft"). John was 55 years of age, born Aug. 30, 1887, in Austria. He was self-employed and resided with his wife Lucy Polli at 70 W. 12 St., Bayonne, Hudson County, N.J. His Austrian birth does not conflict, because the Alpine region of Trento, in which the village of Giustino lies, was part of the Austrian empire until after World War I. This entry, also my friend's relative Giovanni Battista Polli, contains his original signature ("U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," John Batista Polli, Ancestry, http://www.ancestry.com, citing WWII_2372501, Local board, Hudson , New Jersey).

When we search for an ancestor in a database, an index or original documents, we need to search all known variants of his name and we need to be flexible. As Giovanni Battista Polli exemplifies, folks sometimes used their middle name as a given name, used an "Americanized" version of their given name, or used nicknames or initials. Databases give us only what we ask, so we need to ask judiciously.

Despite considerable name variants, the database entries — the 1921 ship manifest, 1930 census, and 1942 World War II draft registration — provide evidence that Battista Polli, Giovanni Battiste and John Batista Polli were all the same man, my friend's relative, Giovanni Battista Polli, a knife grinder from Giustino, Italy. We might know our relative's real name, but that doesn't mean our relative always used it.

Stefani Evans is a board-certified genealogist and a volunteer at the Regional Family History Center. She can be reached c/o the Home News, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074, or [email protected].