Often, when researching, especially if an ancestor has a common name, multiple people in the same community have that same name. It can be easy to get these people mixed up and merge identities by connecting records that belong to another person sharing that name. It is essential to differentiate multiple people with the same name to avoid this kind of mix-up.
LocationLocation
Travelling today is much easier than it was a century or two centuries ago. If the same name appears in two locations, proof must be found to determine if they're the same person. Knowledge of migration patterns can help determine if the apparent migration was realistic. If an ancestor moved from one place to another, there would be land transactions showing it, or church records indicating the family leaving one congregation and joining another.
When searching for an ancestor in a website database, selecting the location the ancestor was known to have lived will rule out results outside of that location. Most of these will not be the ancestor. When examining online tree hints, pay attention to the location of the record, because the algorithms that match the record to the ancestor may not match the location.
Examine records before ruling in or out.Examine records before ruling in or out.
The number of search results for an ancestor will vary. Search queries can be tweaked to narrow or broaden the search results. The researcher then examines the results, which look like they might be the ancestor. Sometimes, information in the index will be enough to determine if it's the ancestor or someone else with the same name. Sometimes it won't be clear from the index. It is important to note that the index does not include all the information from the record, or that the record was mis-transcribed. In either case, examining the image of the record will be more informative than examining the index. If it is not the ancestor, a more thorough examination of the record means more confidence that it's the wrong person.
Use a timeline or a table.Use a timeline or a table.
When it is apparent that another person in the community had the same name as the ancestor, a table or chart can help differentiate them. Making a timeline is one way to do this. This is especially helpful when dealing with indirect evidence. A single record mentioning John Smith may not give enough information to determine which John Smith it is, but correlating it with another record of John Smith will be more informative. As the records are correlated, it can be determined if they belong to the ancestral John Smith or the other John Smith.
Here is an example of a table to differentiate people with the same name. (This example is fictitious.)
| John Smith A | John Smith B | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1825 | probable birth year due to appearing in tax records in 1846 | ||
| 1830 | probable birth year due to appearing in tax records in 1851 | ||
| 1846 | taxed for 5 acres of land in Green county | ||
| 1850 | enumerated in census in Green county with apparent wife Nancy | enumerated in census in Green county with apparent mother Catherine | |
| 1851 | taxed for 10 acres of land in Green county | taxed for 3 acres of land in Green county | |
| 1852 | sold land to Josiah Smith | ||
| 1853 | bought land from Adam Brown |
The importance of tax recordsThe importance of tax records
The tax collector had to record how much each person in the community owed in taxes and whether they had paid it. If a community had multiple taxable individuals with the same name, he had to differentiate them on the tax records.
The above-mentioned fictitious Green County tax collector would have had to differentiate the two John Smiths. One way he might have done so is to refer to them as Sr and Jr. Jr and Sr designations don't always mean the two people were related. It was one way record keepers differentiated people by indicating who was older and who was younger.
Another way a tax collector might differentiate two people with the same name is by indicating their occupations. If John Smith A was a farmer and John Smith B was a blacksmith, the tax collector might put those occupations in his record.
Looking up tax records from year to year will show how long there were people with the same name in the same community and indicate which is which. This can be very helpful in differentiating an ancestor from someone else with the same name.
Know the FANsKnow the FANs
Ancestors did not exist in isolation. They lived around their family, associates, and neighbors (FAN club). On land records, marriage records, and other records, pay attention to who the witnesses were. On census records, pay attention to who the neighbors were. The same FAN club members across two records of John Smith are a good indication that both records represent the same John Smith.
In the above example, both John Smiths likely have different FAN clubs. The table indicates that John Smith A's wife is Nancy, so a record she signs would be his rather than John Smith B's. A different wife, while Nancy Smith was alive, would belong to a different John Smith.
