Ancestor changed surname

sluchs

My ancestors, Ira Kee (Key) married Emzy Whitaker in Surry N.C. in January 1832. When their first child was born the following November, her surname was recorded as Johnson. Ira's surname was still listed as Key in the N.C. 1840 census. By 1850 this family was in Missouri using the surname Johnson. We know that either Ira or Emzy (or both) were Native American because of DNA that traces to that marriage. Can anyone provide some insight as why this change of surnames occurred or suggest ways to trace Ira's parents?

Thank you for any ideas,

Sue Luchs

Yvonnewedgworth

I found Iredell Key & Emsey Whitaker's marriage license does indicate they were married 25 Jan 1832. The bondsmen were Anderson Whitaker and F. K. Armstrong. This person is listed on FamilySearch.org with the id of MY54-F6H and has a duplicate record ID of LWY3-NMF these two need to merged as the second record is the extracted marriage record. Emsey also has a duplicate record. There are several Ira Key's listed on Ancestry.com so might look at those as well.

Yvonnewedgworth

We cannot merge records, but you can. Here are the steps to take.

1. In Family Tree, display a person page. 
2. If the Details section is not displayed, click Details. 
3. In the Research Help section, click a Possible Duplicate message. 
4. Click Review Merge. The merge screen opens. 
   • Left side is the possible duplicate. A merge deletes the record. 
   • Right side is the record that you started from. A merge saves the record. 
5. Decide if the records are about the same person. 
   1. Compare the left and right sides. Look for matching names, dates, places, and family members. 
   2. Read any warning messages on the screen. 
   3. If the record on the left is the most accurate, click Switch to keep it instead. 
   4. If the records are not about the same person, click Not a Match. If you are not sure, click Back. If the records are about the same person, click Yes Continue, and continue with step 6.
6. Decide what information to keep.
   1. To compare the contributor, contribution date, and reason statements of each piece of information, click the down arrow.
   2. To move information back to the right, click Undo. The information returns to the possible duplicate.
   3. To replace information on the right with information from the left, click Replace. Use it, for example, to save the life sketch or a reason statement. 
   4. If the left side contains information that is not on the right side, and you want to save it, click Add.
7. Click Continue. 
8. Finish the merge: 
   1. Review the surviving record. 
   2. Enter a reason for merge. You can click one of the suggested reason statements or enter your own statement.
   3. If everything looks correct, click Finish Merge. If something is incorrect, click Back, and make the corrections on the previous screen. 
   4. Click Finish Merge.

Immediately after the merge and for a short time, an “undo” option is available. Click to unmerge the 2 records.