Inconsistencies in records can create a problem for the genealogist. Ages can be off. Specific dates of birth can vary from one record to another. Names can vary slightly from one ancestral reference to the next. Any piece of information about an ancestor can be different in different references.
The difficulty is in determining whether these differences matter. Do we need to revise what we think we know about a specific ancestor or do we need to conclude that we do not have records involving the same person?
It’s not an easy question to answer as it usually depends on the specifics of the situation. Generally though it’s best to look at each record as a whole in trying to determine if a record refers to the person to whom we think it does (ie. is it generally consistent with what we know–or think we know?). Then if one piece (or more) is inconsistent with what we think we know, we need to see how inconsistent it really is. Is it just that the age is off by a few years? Is it just that the name is spelled a little off? Just keep in mind that minor differences can also be due to the fact that there are two people with the same or very similar names.
There’s no hard and fast rule. That’s the rule. But you’ll find it easier to determine if you have one person with slight variations in data or two separate individuals if you’ve looked for as many records as possible.
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I just discovered that a possible second husband for my 3 times great-aunt, isn’t her husband at all. Again, both women shared the same first name Lucinda, and both were born in Illinois. I kept digging, and lo, and behold, the other woman’s full name showed up on a marriage record to the same man. Beyond that, she was listed as his wife and the mother of the child that also was in the census record I found. The year of marriage was close to the one that showed in my relative’s ‘marriage’ record. They both can’t be correct. Armed with the Probate Papers from her father’s death, two of his daughters, Lucinda and Betsey Jane, were both widows in 1863, and one was deceased. I deleted this bogus husband from my tree. Dig, dig and dig some more.