Thank you
Nanaea . I shall certainly follow your advice and purchase the recommended book. However, I think I should have used the term "nickname" instead of "variation". You see everyone in this family used nicknames -
Nellie for
Ellen ;
Agnes for
Johanna (these two have been confirmed) and it seems
Martha , who recorded her name as such on official documents could have used the name
Margaret when corresponding. So I dare say, what I should have asked was do you think
Margaret could be a nickname for
Martha . I am grabbing at straws trying to determine if both of these names could apply to the same woman. I guess though, that anyone could use any name as a nickname. Maybe I shall never get to solve this riddle. Thank you anyway for your time and interest.
Mary