Did you relative get the wrong name in their head? I wrote a complete blog post about a man named Joseph Watson, only to refer to him as James Watson almost every time I used his name. Is it possible that your ancestor simply referred to the wrong person when giving information?
And proofread what you write–more than once. It’s possible that you made a mistake as well–and those accidental, “got it in my head wrong” mistakes sometimes come back to haunt you.
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It’s better to have someone else proofread. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve sent a message to a blogger about a typo or other boo-boo.
Another good practice is to read your written work out-loud. Mistakes often surface when you hear the words.
Yes, proofread! I was horrified once when I did a family history book for a friend with the last name of “Benton.” After she passed, I saw I had typed “Bennett” on the cover of the genealogy. She had never said a word about it. Ugh! As we search we always have to keep in mind that someone else may have made the same error (usually census-takers after knocking on dozens of doors – I figure that is why I cannot find who is supposed to be there somewhere. lol)
And not to mention that after copying name after name in a census enumeration, it would be very easy to make a mistake.