The great Perry & Levi Tennison/Tennyson mystery
My great grandfather was Perry Green Tennyson, son of Levi Tennison, son of Rutherford Tennison. I am trying to find out why the name got changed from Tennison to Tennyson. Perry refused to ever talk about his family, so we assumed he changed it himself, but I found in a 1900 census that Levi and all of his household members were listed in the census as Tennyson. In all previous censuses taken in the decades before it was Tennison. So does anyone know why it changed in the spelling? Does anyone know the store of why Perry wouldn't ever talk about his family before him? Also Perry got changed to Parry with an "A" in it. This is what he went by later in life. My whole family is in the dark on why the change in spelling in the first and last name. If anyone can clue us into the mystery, it would be much appreciated. Thanks