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The Family History Compass
8/27/2001 - Archive
The Curse of the Common Name
Long-time readers have heard me lament my fate of having too many common surnames
in my research. Most of us have at least one family in their lines that makes
you just groan when you discover the name. It's that one that we keep putting
off. When we look for the name in an index or database, instead of hoping for
a hit, we hope for a manageable number of hits.
I recently received several e-mails from readers discussing the problems they
were having in researching ancestors with all-too- common names, so I thought
that today and in some upcoming columns, we'd revisit the subject and talk about
some ways to get around the "curse of the common name."
See If It's Been Done
One thing that can save a lot of head banging is to see if someone has already
done the work. Many genealogies have been documented and published and you may
find your John Smith in published genealogies, biographies, periodicals, or
any number of historical sources, which can be found in libraries with genealogical
collections. There are now a number of indexes to these published resources,
which include the Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI), American Genealogical-
Biographical Index (AGBI), and the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), all of which
are available to Ancestry.com subscribers and on CD-ROM.
PERSI articles can easily be requested from the organization that published
the periodical, or through the Allen County Public Library, which retains a
copy of the periodicals included in the index for a nominal fee.
The obvious advantage is that you may find your ancestor documented, but even
if you don't, you may be able to eliminate a similar family and thus narrow
your search. In addition, in many periodicals, the author will share the techniques
used to tackle similar problems, and you may learn of a new approach that can
help with your problem. It's a win-win-win situation!
Profiles
Since you are working with a name that is going to belong to many individuals
(most of which will undoubtedly have the same first name too if your luck is
anything like mine!), we need to find a way to identify them in the crowd. Despite
the common name, there are characteristics that can help you determine which
John Smith is yours. Let's look at some common identifiers. Some are no-brainers,
but there are a few that I tend to forget sometimes, and when they come together,
they can put forth some compelling evidence.
- Given and Middle Name
- Age and vital event dates. In the absence of records, these can sometimes
be estimated (see articles by Patricia Law Hatcher below).
- Race
- Location at a particular time
- Occupation
- Immediate family members
- Siblings with unusual given names or characteristics can be traced to locate
parentage and other important information, and the family group structure can
help to differentiate your ancestor from others with the same name.
- Friends, neighbors, and extended family who may be referenced in various
records as sponsors, guardians, witnesses, and such.
- Religion
- Military Service
- Property—Since property was often passed down from generation to generation,
a family can often be traced through property holdings.
- Signature—A comparison of your ancestor's signature on separate records
can help ascertain if you are looking at the same person.
Finding Other Family Members
One of the toughest lines that I have had to work on has been that of my 3rd
great-grandmother, Catherine Kelly. In March 2000, I wrote about her in "Searching
for Catherine Kelly in a Sea of Kellys." In a printed reference mentioning one
of Catherine's daughters who was a Sister of Charity, we found the name of an
aunt, Elizabeth Kelly, who made a donation to this religious order. Since she
is listed as single in the 1880 census, this would probably make Elizabeth a
sister to Catherine.
Further down the line with her great-grandson, there are some guardianship papers
that reference family-owned rental properties at 155 Huntington in Brooklyn.
James Kelly, whom family correspondence tells us is an uncle to Catherine's
children, is living at that address in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, and again
in later city directories for Brooklyn. His age in the census makes him a candidate
for brother of Catherine. So with Catherine, Elizabeth, and James, we have a
possible family group beginning to form. It's a start, albeit with very common
first names. (I told you my ancestors weren't creative with given names!)
As we trace Elizabeth and James, we hope to find information that will lead
to Catherine's parents because Catherine died at age twenty-six and didn't have
a chance to create many records. (I am really hoping for this to pan out—I'm
getting out of shape from a lack of genealogy happy dances!)
Is It Really So Common?
When you first learn you are descended from Smiths (or Jones, Johnsons, Adams,—insert
your cursed name here), you may find yourself looking for an easier pastime—like
drawing a map of the world on a pinhead. But don't throw in the towel just yet.
Have you actually looked? I have been postponing research on James Kelly because
there are just too many Kellys in the New York City area where Catherine was
reportedly born, and I didn't feel like wading through all of them, but when
I finally did a focused search for him in the AIS Census indexes, I was pleasantly
surprised to find that in Kings Co., there were only 2 in 1840, and 17 in New
York County. Of course by 1860, there are 34 James Kellys listed in Brooklyn
and a whopping 117 in New York County. Ouch! But if I can locate him in 1840
and 1850 when he should first be appearing in the censuses, I may be able to
follow his movements and can start looking for other records created in more
specific areas. Plus maybe, just maybe (dare I hope?), his parents will be living
with him, or near him.
Time and Place
By now you've probably all become familiar with my love for timelines. This
is my favorite way to gather all the concrete information that I have for an
individual. I include the events and records I have found for an ancestor, listed
in chronological order. In addition, I recently began adding a header of sorts,
with facts and stats that may not necessarily be chronological in nature, but
are helpful nonetheless, such as religion, occupation, and surnames that may
or may not be relevant (witnesses, neighbors, sponsors, guardians, etc.). This
makes it easy to locate the important data at a glance.
The timelines make it easy to follow my ancestors' lives and in creating them,
I often find things I had previously overlooked, any red flags, and ideas for
new avenues to pursue.
Sorting It Out
When you are looking for people with common surnames, as daunting a task as
it may seem, when you have zeroed in on an area, you will need to collect as
much information on the people who share that surname as you can. Once you have
collected all the information you can find on the possible suspects, your first
instinct may be to run and hide (especially if the piles are leaning towards
you!). Not necessary—there are a number of ways to make sense of the mass of
seemingly unrelated data you have accumulated.
When it comes to sorting out a hundred or so entries that match your surname,
technology can definitely lend a helping hand. Records located, and long lists
of hits from databases can be hand entered or copy/pasted into spreadsheets
where you can sort them any number of ways. Genealogical programs like Clooz
can also help you sort out all the information you have collected and create
reports that can help you analyze your findings easily. In her article, "Separating
Men of the Same Name," Pat Hatcher discusses a system for sorting out people
with the same name using index cards and highlighters.
Whatever method you choose, just take it a step at a time. With a little perseverance,
you just may break the curse of the common name.
Related Articles
"Searching for Catherine Kelly in a Sea of Kellys," by Juliana Smith http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/714.asp
"Using Dates to Improve Your Research," by Patricia Law Hatcher, CG, FASG
Part 1 http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/2827.asp
Part 2 http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/2917.asp
"Dates: When You Don't Have a Record," by Patricia Law Hatcher, CG, FASG
Part 1 http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/2314.asp
Part 2 http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/2359.asp
"Separating Men of the Same Name," by Patricia Law Hatcher, CG, FASG http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/903.asp
Databases
(Note: These are Ancestry.com subscribers exclusive databases.)
American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)
http://www.ancestry.com/agbi
Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
http://www.ancestry.com/bgmi
Periodical Source Index (PERSI)
http://www.ancestry.com/persi
Library of Congress 50,000 Bibliographic Sources
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/inddbs/3011.htm
Other Biographical & History Resources at Ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/biohist/main.htm
Reference & Finding Aids at Ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/main.htm
Juliana Smith is the editor of the Ancestry Daily News and author of
The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book. She has written for Ancestry
Magazine and Genealogical Computing. Juliana can be reached by e-mail
at: editor@ancestry-inc.com, but
regrets that she is unable to assist with personal research.
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