The will of an ancestor mentioned provisions for his children. The daughters all had surnames different from the testator–except for one who had the same last name as the will-writing ancestor. I assumed she was not married at the time the will was written.
I was wrong.
She was married. She simply married a distant cousin with the same last name as hers. For that reason her last name did not change upon her marriage and the lack of a name change made me initially assume that she was not married.
If it can happen in the Tinsley family, it can certainly happen in the Smiths, Browns, or families with more common names.
Try a GenealogyBank Genealogy Search to see what you find.
One response
My second great grandparents were first cousins — Joseph Tipton Russell married Mary Ebaline Russell. So her name did not change.