A few months ago, I completed a project in which the objective was to determine which of two Jacob Fishers living in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the 1790 census was my ancestor. I used the FAN principle and created a fan club made up of men listed near each Jacob Fisher on the census, then used military and church records to separate the two men by noting records in which members of their FAN clubs also appeared. This was an enjoyable exercise, and it was really fun to see two separate and distinct groups of people emerge. At the end of the project, I was able to conclude that Jacob Fisher of Whitehall Township was my ancestor.
I was reminded of this project when I attended my Grandma Lois’s funeral at the end of August. While there, we talked with a second cousin that shares my husband’s name. We had fun swapping stories about instances where there has been confusion about which was which. I realized later in the day that this could become confusing down the road. How will future family historians be able to determine which is which? There will be records that can be used to separate them, but to aid the situation, personal written documentation is needed.
It’s interesting to think about present-day situations that might become genealogical conundrums down the road. Do you have family members that share the same name? How will they be distinguished from one another in the future?
To learn more about separating persons of the same name, watch a free BYU Family History Library webinar entitled “Double Trouble: Avoiding the Same Name Trap.” The webinar will be held on Thursday, September 12, at 3:00 pm Mountain Time.
Click this link to view the webinar live:
https://byu.zoom.us/j/687225917
A recording will be posted afterward here:
https://fh.lib.byu.edu/classes-and-webinars/online-webinars/webinar-recording-index/
