Too Many Marys: Solving Identity & Same Name Conundrums

One of the most common issues we face when doing family research is determining whether a particular John Smith is "our" John Smith. We often "pick one" before we have determined that we have no competing candidates. The naming practices of certain cultures (e.g. Scandinavian and Irish), inherited names appearing in multiple generations and women who marry and are "lost" are all examples of the problems we face every day. There is no silver bullet for parsing out your ancestor from all the others. Using examples, we will explore three different types of same-name issues of increasing complexity and develop research strategies for each.

Jill Morelli, CG, loves to share her passion for genealogy with others. She is a writer, lecturer and researcher specializing in the US Midwest, Scandinavia and northern Germany. She lectures nationally on topics inspired by her own research and methodology. Jill has been successfully published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Swedish American Genealogist, Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly and many others. In 2017, she founded the online Certification Discussion Group, demystifying the process of submission of a portfolio to the Board for Certification of Genealogists and in 2021, she founded with two others the Applied Genealogy Institute, a virtual practicum-based institute for advanced learners. Jill is past president of the Seattle Genealogical Society, and belongs to many local genealogical societies.

Please note that we are requiring registration as this event is happening over Zoom.

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