Since the spelling of the surname of the Seebarts has been subject to variance as far back as is traceable, it is a matter of first importance that the confusion should now be clarified to the fullest possible extent. According to Ella Henrietta Seebart (Wife of George Henry Seebart and mother of the Emerado Seebarts children, shown here), the spelling of the surname which was used in the Prussian Province of Germany, where the family originated, was Ziebarth. The evidence in substantiation of this statement is overwhelming. (The one possible contradiction to this conclusion will be dealt with in a later section of this manuscript.) The most telling pieces of evidence in support of this conclusion are two warranty deeds: one drawn by John W. Blakely to August Ziebarth (Charleya August Ziebarth) father of George Henry Ziebarth, July 9, 1878; and, another drawn by "August Ziebarth and his wife" to "Henry Ziebarth" on February 25, 1879.

It should be noted here that in two instances the surname is spelled "berth" rather than "barth." This has to be an error on the part of the clerk who drew the deeds, as all of the other evidence supports the "barth" spelling. Throughout my research and in my personal experience, I have found a distinct tendency on the part of persons having dealings with my family, and even among some members of the family, to shorten or slur the last syllable of the surname, making it sound like "berth, burt or bert." The records show that poor spellers and careless people often misspelled our original surname, Ziebarth, and later on, Seebart. The following examples will illustrate the case in specific instances: Zeebert, Siebert, Seebert, or Seeburt. Spelling education (or the lack of it) being what it was in those early days, it appears that some of the Ziebarths themselves did not always correctly spell their surname, as will be notes in a later paragraph of this manuscript. Many persons had problems with writing and spelling in those days. Even as do so many of our young "educated" of today.