There are words that can be vague in certain situations. Brother-in-law is one of those words. If a writer uses the phrase “my brother-in-law,” to whom are they referring. Is it their sister’s husband? Is it their spouse’s brother? Is it their spouse’s sister’s husband? Sometimes the reader will know to whom the writer is referring. Other times they will not. Always make certain your own use of terminology is clear–remember the reader may not have all the information at their fingertips that you have in your head.
When someone “can’t be found” after their spouse dies, the question to ask is “did they marry again?” In locations where women change their last name upon marriage, the reason for the disappearance should be obvious: the name has changed. Men who remarry do not change their last name, but it is possible that they move to a new location after the marriage or relationship starts. The move may be unexpected if the individual has lived in the same place their entire life. If the person marries near where they had always lived, finding the record and new names might not be a problem. In other situations finding them may be more difficult. Obituaries, estate records, and newspaper “gossip columns” can be some places to find what happened […]
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