NOTE: Apparently Pine Baron’s original posting about the spelling of the name “Russel” disappeared during a server hiccup while I was attempting to provide him with an answer. You will find my response below:
John:
Misspellings in names are commonplace. Earlier this year I assembled a biographical essay on an architect by the name of Russel Griffith Howard, who practiced his profession in western Pennsylvania during the early twentieth century. Census schedules, newspaper articles, and a variety of documents spelled his name with a single “L” and/or a double “L” and it was difficult to determine his real given name; even biographical volumes variously spelled it. After accessing some official records, I finally went with Russel with one “L.”
While I would tend to agree with you about the spelling on the marker, please don’t overrule an inadvertent or even an intentional error on the maker’s part. Also keep in mind that we don’t know whether the marker is referring to a given name or a surname. I tend to think it is the former.
Best regards,
Jerseyman