I really want to find out how the middle name of an ancestor was spelt, any idea

Question:

I really want to find out how the middle name of an ancestor was spelt, any ideas?

I've already tried war record and birth/death certificates, i also want to find out how he died, the problem is, on his war records, one spelling has been crossed out etc, any helpful ideas?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: How long ago did this ancestor live? If the war records in question are from anything before, say, the Spanish-American war, chances are, they predate the notion of "one correct spelling" (for names or anything else). Any of a range of spellings was considered to be correct, as long as it recorded approximately the right pronunciation. If your ancestor was himself literate, and can be shown to have used one spelling consistently (which is not necessarily the case!), then that spelling can be considered "most correct"; but in any case, you should record the full range of variations that you've found (and where you found each one).