Duplicate records with different surname spellings

B.Mercer

Hello all;

I photograph Colonial era gravestones in Massachusetts, and research the genealogy of the buried. I find duplicate records for the same person, in Family Search, with different spellings of the surname as it is common to find a person's surname spelled differently from one record to another. For instance; the latest family I've been researching is named Peachie, but some of their surnames are also spelled Peachey, leading to multiple records for the same person. Is there any way to straighten these problems out? I see this problem constantly

KevinRobinson

Hi Thanks for your question.

There are many things you can do here to help improve the accuracy of the records you are seeing in FamilySearch. You are able to correct spellings of surnames, or add as an alternative name. When you find multiple records of the same person you are able to merge them. With every change you make it is always best to include a source so other users can see why you've made the change and not be tempted to change it back. It would be good a add the gravestone photo to the individuals concerned as this is good evidence of the changes you've made.

All the best with you research.

dontiknowyou

Multiple historical records are acceptable, even desirable, and all index records should reflect the spelling in the original. Multiple Family Tree profiles for the same person are duplicates; they should be merged into one profile.