In the shtetl, born about 1850, a woman would be identified with her parents
according to how her patents were referred to. In other words, if Doba's father
was Benjamin who lived in Pilosk (or maybe Pilosk is an occupation), and he was
commonly called Benjamin Pilosky, then she would be referred to as Doba, David
Pilosky's. After she leaves home with her new husband, moves maybe to the US,
then in recollecting her family, she'll refer to her family not necessarily by
the surname ASSIGNED to her family, maybe Unsterbrofski, but according to how
her parents were known in the shtetl. This is the theory behind the common
problem of more than one maiden name. Remember also, women remarried, and their
daughters later in life may refer both to their birth and to their step-father
in recounting their maiden name.

Steve Slesinger writes:

In a son's marriage
papers he lists his mother's maiden name as "Doba Pilosky."

In a daughter's marriage papers, she refers to her mother's maiden name
as "Dora Umstebrofski".

There is almost 100% certainty that both of these are referring to the
same person. Can anybody theorize on such a vast difference between
Pilosky and Umstebrofski????

JimYarin@...
Somerville, MA