I am looking for some assistance on where I should look.

I have a name given to me from family members that I am sure is correct. That person was born on 3 Aug 1909 and I can track him through 1935 with that name (Schlenker). I have letters from later years (1962 - 1973) from someone with a different last name, but same birth date (Miller). From the nature and content of these letters I know it is the same person. I can find information on the later name and that person has the same first name, middle initial, and birth date and I can track this person back to 1942 when they enlisted in the military with the new name, and their death date in 1969.

One other piece of information that may help. When the person had the original name (Shlenker) he lived in Pennsylvania. When he had the later name (Miller) he lived in California.

Any suggestions on where I can look to try to bridge from the original name (Schlenker) in 1909-1935 to the new name (Miller) in 1942-1969?

Any and all help is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

What branch of the military? If it's not the Army, you could try to get records if he is a direct ancestor.

The 1940 census may help when indexing is complete.

Do you have any theories about the reason for the name change? During that time period very little was required to effectively change your name.

Did you try Social Security records? That's the one thing that was usually accurate. Have you been able to obtain a Social Security Number for Miller/Schlenker? Due to new Privacy Laws, I don't know how much help you will receive now from the SSA.

Years ago, while ordering a headstone for an ancestor, we found a discrepancy in his name. Social Security was able to provide the correct information. They also said that Military info may be incorrect regarding age. Many men lied about their age to enter the service, you have to take that with a grain of salt.

As far as legal name changes, you would need to know which state and possibly the county to find a record. Each state is different. Some states allow aliases without any paperwork as long as the alias is not used for illegal purposes.

Good Luck!

Rel@ively,
Patrice

Thank you Patrice,

I will check with the Navy and Social Security to see what information they can provide.

Thank you very much for the help!

Keith