Consider Those Relatives

Names are not totally unique because many of our immigrant ancestors may have first cousins with the same first and last name, perhaps even born in the same year. In many ancestral countries, the number of unique given or last names was much fewer than in today's culture. The frequency of common names, coupled with various naming patterns, wherein certain names were used again and again within an extended family, make it impossible to rely only on a name to identify an immigrant. Fortunately, there are additional ways to clearly identify an immigrant.

Dates Are Important

We must determine one or more fundamental dates to ground our family and their many common names as we move back in time. Study careful the information provided in the reading materials. Be aware of different calendaring uses in other countries, and record carefully everything that is found so we can work through your hypothesis together.

Relationships

Even in United States research, we must unravel many family members of the same name and often it is through the collateral lines that relationships are established to the proper individual. Finding any other relation to link to an ancestor is important. As indicated in the reading, “In fact, it does not really matter what relative you identify for the immigrant, as long as the relative is:

• clearly and specifically identified (cousin has many definitions, brother has fewer).
• associated with them in the old country (the wife he married in Canada may not have been anywhere close to him in the old country).
• able to be documented with the immigrant in the home town.

For these reasons, the father is the preferred relative to use in identifying the immigrant. The relationship is clear and unique, and almost always identified in foreign records.”