Now, I grew up in Massachusetts. I know how to "pahk a cah." My bruthah went to Hahvahd. But when my grandmother told me her father worked for the Plymouth "Cottage" Company, I was puzzled. A company that specialized in cottages? Is that like a craftsman bungalow? Well, as it turns out, her accent seemed to have been thicker even than mine. He worked for the Plymouth CORDAGE Company. So if you are having trouble finding a surname, place name or other name, see if you can misspell, mispronounce or mis-cursive it. Another example is my French ancestral surname Vautrinot. Often it is mis-transcribed Vantrinot. But when I check that Vantrinot, all the other pieces fit and it is one of my ancestors.
