This is my maternal great-grandfather, Shelley Greene, circa 1898. He was the youngest child of Ira and Veila Louise Brackin Green. If you look closely at the photo, you’ll see Shelley’s hair is quite long for a boy his age. After having four boys, his mother wanted a girl so badly that she didn’t cut his hair until he was seven years old. It appears she enjoyed crimping or curling his hair and pulling it back with barrettes. Poor Shelley!
If you’re wondering, I didn’t make a mistake in typing the first paragraph. The spelling of the Green name changed to Greene in my family line at some point, possibly in the 1930s. My grandmother told me she was the one who changed it because green is a color and she preferred her maiden name to be spelled Greene.
My great-grandfather Shelley signed his last name as Green on his 1917 WWI Draft registration card and census records for my great-grandparents through 1940 reflect the original name. All of my great-grandfather’s brothers kept the original Green surname. This is a good example of why you should always search for various spellings of surnames when you’re doing genealogy research.
Maybe it was more customary in the 19th century for young boys to be dressed and groomed like little girls. It’s surprising you can change your last name so easily. If you want do that over here the Queen has to grand permission.
From what I understand little boys wore dresses back then. Don’t know how long that tradition went on, but I have a picture of my great-grandmother’s brother wearing a dress back in the early 1900s. Years ago, it may have been easier to change your name here in the States, but today it involves a legal process. Thanks for stopping by Rob.