Thanks to Esther, from Australia, there is more light on the St Helena connection. We seem to be third cousins, and it was a pleasure to connect up with her by skype over christmas. She had found, and I had missed, that although my 3xgreat grandmother went by Houndsworth in the records on st Helena, her father went by Unsworth. Those pesky initial H ! Many people in England routinely drop an initial “h”. This is common among Londoners but not exclusive to there. At times in the past, inserting an initial “h” was an affectation in some circles, possibly intended to set the person apart from the common herd,who dropped the “h”. Unfortunately it was often put where it did not belong. Whether this happened here or no, it is hard to decide.
But the lesson is clear, if a name begins with a vowel, but you cannot find it, does it really have an “h” on the front? If it has an “h”, have you searched without it? Soundex assigns significance to consonants, but this little “h” is probably less important than its partner vowels! Soundex matches may not match Unsworth with Houndsworth. I guess familiarity may influence this. If in the Georgian era you tell the vicar your name is ‘Unter, he may well write Hunter, and be correct. A less familiar name may be more easily mangled.