My grandma Berniece always said that Pfefferkorn was german for Peperkorn. She was a descendant of Wilhelm Matin Pfefferkorn on her mothers side and her father's family was Peper. The family always talked about a name change upon reaching America but nothing specific and Wilhelm came in through Cananda. They may be one and the same. I do not know how to go about investigating a name change. I am stuck at Wilhelm Pfefferkorn and Herman Peper before America.