I had searched for the marriage record for my g-g-g grandfather, Barnett Broughard, for a number of years. It was difficult because the Broughard name has been spelled many different ways through the generations. I had just about given up when, on a whim, I decided to search the records at Ancestry.com using Barnett as his last name rather than his first name. Sure enough, there it was in the "Indiana Marriages Through 1850" database:

Barnett, Brouherd married Thomas, Rachel on 13 Feb 1823 in Shelby County, Indiana.

Not only had the first and last name been name been switched, but the spelling of Broughard was also incorrect!

Since this incident, whenever I am searching for an ancestor whose first name could also be a last name (e.g., Mason Adams, Collin Stewart), I always search for them under both names (Adam Mason, Stewart Collin or Collins). It has proven to be a valuable lesson over the years.

Another instance where names are easily interchanged is when a person has a name such as David Michael James. It is very easy for record keepers and transcribers to mistake the last name for the first name and vice versa.

I was very excited when I finally found my ancestor's marriage record, and I hope this little tip will help someone else enjoy that same success.

Thanks to Diane Simpson for today’s Quick Tip! If you have a tip that you would like to share with other researchers, you can send it to: editor@ancestry-inc.com.