Many beginning genealogists are advised to be aware of the mistake called “the name’s the same.” That phrase refers to finding someone in a source—perhaps a census or tax record—and assuming they’re the person of interest simply because they have the same name.
But that’s not always the case, as many people (even within one community) could have the same name, creating a problem of identity.
You know the disappointment if you’ve also found people who you thought were relatives early in your research but later discovered they weren’t. If you've spent long hours in the search, you might feel you’ve wasted your time or even resist letting go of these phantom ancestors.
But don’t despair. In our research, we can learn the skills and strategies to solve identity problems correctly.
What Is Identity in Genealogy?
Genealogical research usually begins with a question we want to answer. That research question keeps our focus on the sources most likely to contain the information we need and helps us use our time efficiently.
Genealogists typically have research questions that fit into one of three broad categories:
Relationship: Is Larry the father of Mike?
Event or circumstance: When did Larry immigrate, and what port did he arrive in?
Identity: Are these two the same person? For example: Is this “Larry,” in Jones County, MS, in 1850, the same person as my ancestor, Larry?
We are all unique in time and place, as were our ancestors. Through our research, we search for evidence of what made our ancestors one-of-a-kind.
How do we do that? By looking for defining attributes or characteristics, what I call “identity markers.” These describe aspects of our ancestors and (other than name) include:
Birthdate/Birthplace
Occupation
Location (or residence)
Religious affiliation (or lack thereof)
Middle name
Nickname
Landownership (or lack thereof)
Military service (or lack thereof)
Literacy (or lack thereof)
Handwriting
Place of death/burial
We use markers like these alongside other experiences and relationships that we’ve identified, forming the basis of “cluster research” or “F.A.N. [friends, associates, and neighbors] research.”
If we can weave together enough identity markers, relationships, and experiences from the sources, we can arrive at the unique person in time and place.
Mistakes With Identity
There are two significant categories of identity mistakes we encounter in genealogical research.
One is merging identities when sources that describe different people are believed to tell one person.
The other is splitting identities when sources seem to refer to several different people but refer instead to one.
Both issues stem from a lack of thorough research and analysis. Certain assumptions always operate in the background, torpedoing our research by giving us blind spots.
In other cases, our research is too shallow. Perhaps we’ve overly relied on online records, missing other resources. Online databases also operate via name-search, making identity mistakes easier to commit.
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