Note: This article by Kathryn Grant was published previously in the Hearts Linked Together blog site and is used with the author’s permission.

Picture this scenario: You’re working in the Family Tree on FamilySearch.org when you see a possible duplicate for John Chambers. And both of them have a wife named Elizabeth. Are these two John Chambers the same person? It might appear so at first. After all, how many John Chambers could there be married to someone named Elizabeth?

The truth is, quite a lot. Every country in the world has its common names (for example, in English-speaking countries you’ll find a lot of people named John, William, Henry, Mary, Elizabeth, or Jane; in Spanish-speaking countries you’ll find many people named Juan, Diego, Luis, Maria, Isabel, or Elena). Even an unusual name like Alexander Entwistle might be used repeatedly within a family.

So when we’re trying to tell people with the same name apart, we have to rely on vital information (for example, birth dates and places) and family relationships (parents, spouses, etc.).

In the example above, neither John Chambers has any vital information at all–no birth or death information. Neither do their wives.

However, here is information on each couple’s daughter. John Chambers and Elizabeth #1 have this daughter:

John Chambers and Elizabeth #2 have this daughter:

John Chambers and Elizabeth #2 have this daughter:

What do you notice about these two daughters? Could they possibly be the same person or even siblings in the same family?

If you answered “no,” you’re right 🙂 The first daughter was born over 100 years before the second one. Not only that, they were born on completely different continents. Since the two girls can’t possibly be in the same immediate family, it’s clear that their parents (John and Elizabeth) can’t be the same people either.

Determining whether two records in Family Tree really are the same person can help you avoid mistakes such as bad merges and incorrect relationships. A little sanity checking goes a long way!