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The original spelling of the German name Bär (meaning a beast) is now standardized as "Baer" in Germany and Switzerland. The spelling has been translated in America at least 38 official different ways. In one instance, in the early 1800's, the same man's name was spelled 5 different ways on a land title in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The most common spelling was Bear. After the civil war some of the families changed the spelling of their surnames to Bair.
This project is for all the variations of the surname Bear or Bears.