Sifting through yet another box of Mom's papers, I came upon two documents that need to be shared. I recall seeing them before and vaguely recall the story. Here's the best I can do with the evidence and my memory:
A baby was born to David and Stella Pickrel on May 24, 1915, in their home at 1612 Grand Avenue, Dayton.
According to this copy of the original birth certificate, this girl child was named Janet May Pickrel.
Hmmmm . . .
We've always known her as Dorothy Joan, or Dodie.
At 33 years, Stella Mary Young Pickrel had already birthed seven babies before this new arrival.
One baby girl had not lived long. As I recall, she had been named Janet. (Not sure about the middle name, but the month is right anyway.)
Probably it was exhaustion that resulted in the error, but we may never know. The new baby wasn't called Janet. She was Dorothy right away and Dorothy she remained.
Only in 1972, and it's not clear why then and not earlier, did the record get set straight. With her older sister, Ruth, born May 5, 1905, Dorothy had the record set straight in court. An affidavit was filed on July 31, 1972, to change the baby's name from Janet May to Dorothy Joan.
And while they were at it, the sisters corrected their father's middle initial from R. to L.
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