If your ancestor has a surname as a first name or middle name, remember that it may be a mother’s maiden name, grandmother’s maiden name, or another last name from the family’s history. It’s also possible the name was for a family friend or notable figure. Keep in mind that not all notable figures during the time the relative was named are still notable figures today.
Making discoveries is great, but there comes a time when one has to stop gathering and start organizing, summarizing, and putting information in form that can help you make more progress and get less confused. Information from a new find needs to be compared with what is already known to determine if the right person has been located and if the information is consistent. It can be easy to latch onto the wrong person if one is not careful. And a chart to keep track of the names and relationships is usually helpful as well. Names can easily run together.
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