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What to do if a person changed their name and have 2 identies??

ritarichardson1
ritarichardson1 ✭
January 10, 2022 edited January 10, 2022 in Family Tree

My grandfather had changed his name and had a separate life and identy.How do I combine the two without deleting one??

0

Answers

  • Brett .
    Brett . ✭✭✭✭✭
    January 10, 2022

    @ritarichardson1

    FYI

    Welcome to the "Community.FamilySearch" Forum.

    I am just another 'lowly' User/Patron ...

    Just in passing ...

    Personally ...

    "Birth" Name, recorded in the "Vitals" Section.

    And ...

    "Assumed" Name (ie. Separate Identify), recorded in the "Other Information" Section; as, an "Alternate Name".

    Plus,

    Do not forget to COMPLETELY "Document" (ie. Record) the situation/circumstance.

    Jut my thoughts.

    Good Luck

    I hope, that this may help/assist, somewhat.

    Brett

    1
  • Brett .
    Brett . ✭✭✭✭✭
    January 10, 2022

    @ritarichardson1

    FYI

    Furthermore ...

    Here are some "Knowledge Articles", in 'FamilySearch':

    How should I enter names in Family Tree?

    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-to-enter-names-in-family-tree

    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-to-enter-names-in-family-tree

    How do I enter my ancestor's name if it changed?

    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-enter-my-ancestors-name-if-it-changed

    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-enter-my-ancestors-name-if-it-changed

    I hope, that these may also help/assist, somewhat.

    Brett

    2
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 10, 2022

    Thank you--I added an alternate name

    Rita

    0
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 10, 2022

    Thank you Brett


    Rita

    0
  • Brett .
    Brett . ✭✭✭✭✭
    January 10, 2022

    @ritarichardson1

    Rita

    I found one Ancestor, who had THREE (x3), totally different "Names" (ie. Given and Last) ...

    ▬ One for Birth;

    ▬ One at/for Marriage; and,

    ▬ One at/for Death.

    And ...

    The worst part is ...

    I STILL have NOT been able to find out WHY ...

    [ And, there does not appear to be, any criminal history or record; nor, multiple Families ... ]

    Brett

    2
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 10, 2022

    Kind of same situation here--My grandfather was born in WV and went to Ga at some point,changed his name and had a son then left and came back to wv where he died.None of this was known for yrs,until his son was an elder man and done some research.No one knew this.The son in about 1996 got in touch with his Richardson family in WV who never knew either.He went by the name Hatfield in Ga.Of course he left early so the son really didnt know his father.He done a lot of research and decided to find out what he could---a facinating story for sure.

    0
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 10, 2022

    The son was a ball player --baseball--in his youth then later a talent scout for the yankees ball team.There were newspaper stories about the search for his father.His name was fred hatfield--turned out his father was samuel peter Richardson,not Fred Hatfield whom he was named for.

    0
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 10, 2022

    I just wanted to add this to the family history somehow

    0
  • CDBurk
    CDBurk ✭✭✭
    January 10, 2022 edited January 10, 2022

    @ritarichardson1

    When you have wonderful details about your ancestors that you wish to share, please remember that you can add Stories you create in Memories. For details about using this part of the FamilySearch site, please review the following knowledge articles about uploading Memories, and specifically about adding stories.

    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-upload-photos-or-documents-to-memories
    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-add-a-story-to-memories

    We can also add brief details about a person by creating a Life Sketch, and by posting Discussions and Notes through the Collaboration screen.

    https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/creating-a-life-sketch-in-family-tree
    https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/what-is-the-discussions-feature-in-family-tree

    I hope these suggestions are helpful as you expand the details about your ancestors who are in Family Tree.

    4
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 10, 2022

    Thank you CDBurk

    1
  • Gail Swihart Watson
    Gail Swihart Watson ✭✭✭✭
    January 16, 2022

    I guess I'm going to be guilty of piling on and say, I too, have such an ancestor in the greater family. The name change for this man occurred after he left his wife. Or, as I found out, his first wife. This man is known to my living relatives as the one who left his family and disappeared into the night. When I finally found the second marriage, and the fact that he AND his second wife both began using different first names, a lot of family members were shocked at the secrecy. Both of them had prior marriages and children by those prior marriages. I really cannot (yet) find any reason why they would go by different names, because I found lots of evidence they kept in touch with both sets of children by both first marriages. My instinct tells me you change your name if you want to hide. Oh well. To make matters worse, a family member's father was one of the children by the first marriage, and he did not pass ANY information on. It was all a secret. I have his second name as the AKA and his original name displayed, basically because that is how everyone alive knows him.

    1
  • ritarichardson1
    ritarichardson1 ✭
    January 16, 2022

    You have an interesting story.Yes,you would think having something to hide would be the reason for a name change.But there was nothing ever found in my ancestors life.Though there has to be a reason of some kind,why else would they do it.I guess no onw will ever know why my grandfather done this,everyone is deceased from that time.It sure does make you wonder though.--Thanks for your story.

    1
  • Gail Swihart Watson
    Gail Swihart Watson ✭✭✭✭
    January 16, 2022

    I have thought about this name change a fair amount, because my discovery of it along with the second wife has caused a lot of resentment and hurt feelings for both the son who kept the secret to his death and dad who abandoned his family for another woman. I'm beginning to wonder if it was nothing more than establishing a new beginning? I suspect I will never know, just like you, @ritarichardson1 .

    1
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