I saw an article a few days ago introducing other "Kate Middletons", those who are having a difficult time with using their given name right now because it's also the name of the future Princess of Wales. It's a reminder that there will always be people with the same name, especially in family trees. There is a wonderful legacy in passing on your name to one of your children. But it can also create chaos in research, particularly if the family has an obsession with the same name.
My husband's mother's family is the perfect example of a naming obsession. In fact, not just the family, but the entire Polish community of which they were a part. Johns, Stanleys, Peters, and Marys all abound in the census records. The only way to tell them apart is by their birthdays! As I mentioned in my last post, you want to have a paper trail to prove your information about your relatives. That paper trail is even more important when talking about relatives with the same name.
Now most family trees only include direct ancestors. Most others I know who research genealogy do not even include the siblings of an ancestor. I beg to differ. Though I do not include the children of those siblings, including the siblings of ancestors helps to correctly identify your direct ancestors, especially if it is family tradition to use the same names in each generation. It will help to know if the document you are looking at pertains to John your great-grandfather, John your 2nd cousin twice removed, or an unrelated John. Having the names and dates of siblings helps to identify your ancestor from among the unrelated people who have the same name. Using siblings is the only way I have been able to correctly identify my great-great grandfather. Another person with his same name was born 2 years after him in the same part of Kentucky. Not only that, they appear in the same county in the census! The only way to tell them apart was by using my knowledge of his siblings. He was living with his sister at the time. The other was living with his parents and a slew of siblings whose names did not match the names of my great-great grandfather's siblings. How confusing!
Besides helping identify the correct ancestor, sibling's names can also be used to find information about your ancestor. There may be an obituary about a sibling that mentions your direct ancestor, or a sibling's will leaving something to your ancestor. Google the sibling's name to see what come up. But never underestimate the power of knowing the names of siblings! They are an important piece of the puzzle identifying your ancestor from the other "Kate Middletons."
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