My Henry and Barbara Trautvetter are living together as husband and wife in Hancock County, Illinois, in 1860, with their children. Their immigration date is unknown, but it likely was in the 1845-1855 time frame. There apparently is another Henry and Barbara Trautvetter living in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1850. Based upon the ages of Henry and Barbara and the children in the enumerations, they appear to be separate couples. All of them are German immigrants.
Never assume that there couldn’t be more than one couple with what you think is an unusual name combination. Do some research.
The sites that do “automatic matching” make it easier than it already is to merge people like this together.
2 Responses
How many Angelo Brusati’s could there be in the Detroit phone book in the 1950s? My dad’s wages were garnished because the atty found him in the phone book instead of the other one whose unpaid debts were in collection. Sure did set my Italian Mama off! but a phone call resolved the legal issue — didn’t change the insult, tho! Check those birth dates, etc. Even a seemingly unique pairing of names could be common in the old country.
Good point. The problem can happen anywhere, but can be especially problematic in an urban area that had a large number of immigrants from the same region of Europe or elsewhere.