How to record person known in youth by one name, assumed different name as adult?
With DNA test results (and help from a couple of DNA relatives, in both Ancestry & 23&Me), I recently discovered my GGF's actual birth name & family (from around 1880). He appears in several trees with this name, but no one has "public" records after the 1900 census. My family knew him by a different (but similar) first & last name all of his life, but no one has "public" records before a marriage certificate in 1907. (Note: He once gave apparently fictitious names for his parents.) So he is listed as two different people in the trees of the respective families. What is the proper way to record this? How do you handle a person later known only by an assumed name?
Best Answers
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It's fairly straightforward. Decide based on the situation which is the best name for your family and his life to put as his name under vitals. Put in the reason statement why you chose to put that name there.
Then under Other Information record all the other names he went by and put in the reason statements when he used those names. Put all available sources for these names on his record. You can even create a source where the citation is, "Personal knowledge. This is what his ......... called him for as long as they knew him."
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I have a similar situation. My 2nd great grandfather (prior to his marriage to who would become my 2nd great grandmother) was married to another woman and living under his birth name. Then we think he took off with my 2nd GGM (they lived by each other) and changed his name and moved to another location. Under his changed name is all his children from his 2nd wife and work history and death information. Under his birth name is connections to his parents, his siblings, his first wife and all their posterity. Via DNA testing we figured out he was the same person. For right now we have him with both names in the Tree showing as siblings of the same parents. And lots of notes, etc. We are working with more of the descendants from his first wife to have them do DNA testing so they learn for themselves about their GGF who ran away with another woman, etc. Until there is more consensus and understanding in the family, there are two men listed as siblings (with different names) when actually it is just the same person.
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Thank you Gordon & Amy. Both responses appreciated and helpful! Amy, your situation is remarkably similar (though my GGF's story is even more complicated, if you can believe that!), but I won't go into details here. 😄 Thanks for sharing!
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