It can be easy to forget that records are created at one point in time and often certain details reflect the reality of that moment.

A probate settlement in 1871 lists the surviving sister of the deceased individual whose probate was being settled. The married name she is listed under in that record is one she had only for about the last fifteen years of her life and was not the last name of any of her children all of whom she had with her first husband.

If you are stuck, could it be because you have taken a piece of information that was perhaps true for a short period time and assumed it was true for a much longer period?

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  1. THIS! This is my complaint about MyHeritage. WHY do they list women by their married name and then as an afterthought say (born Smith)? WHY not just call them their born name? How many people doing family history know how many times a woman was married and to whom? I will never subscribe there until that changes.

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