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05 February 2011

Similar Names May be Different People

Just because names are the same does not mean it's one person with a variant name. My ancestor was Nancy Jane Newman. She had a first cousin Nancy Elizabeth Newman. To further confuse the issue, they married brothers.

Researchers are frequently confusing them. It can be easy to do, but remember--just because you think the names mean the people are the same--check. Do your research and take care before determining you have the same person with two slightly different names. You may have two very different people with similar names.