Boerner written as Barner in 1865
In 1865, the census taker for the state of Minnesota listed my great-great grandfather's name as Frederick Barner.His name was really Frederick Börner (Boerner).I believe that the reason for the Barner spelling was because "Börner" was prounced "Barner".I have been told that the umlaut above the "o" (ö) in the Börner name caused the pronunciation to be that of an "a" sound.Also, in homestead papers dated in the late 1860's, the land office listed the name once again as "Barner", even though my g-great grandfather signed his name as "Börner" on homestead documents.Nowadays, the Boerner name is pronounced "Burner"---adding the "e" after the "o" changed it to english from german and was the closest way to maintain the pronunciation I suppose.By the way, my great-great grandfather was from northeastern Germany.
Just thought I'd pass this along in case someone else has seen same...