The first clue I had that one of my ancestors might have been married more than once was when two of her heirs were not listed as heirs of her husband. The husband died a year later and if they shared all the same children, their heirs should have been the same. The two heirs of hers that were not his were still living when he died. It turned out those two were her children by a previous husband.
There is still room in our February US land class and US probate records class. Join us!
Spellings of last names can vary significantly, even within one document. Avoid getting hung up on minor differences or spelling variations. The important thing to keep in mind is do the spellings sound the same. Even if your ancestor was literate, he might not have been too concerned about whether or not his name was spelled right. Always be open to spelling variations-like the 1860 census taker apparently was. He spelled Behrens as Barams, Burse, and Barrus (?) on the same census page.
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