Sorting Through Same Names With Spreadsheets

One of the biggest issues in genealogy, especially Irish genealogy, is people with the same name. For example, once I trace my Twiner family line back to the original Twiner in the U.S., who fought in the Revolutionary War, it seems that all male Twiners are named John. Twiner isn't a common last name, but when you're dealing with colonial records and everyone is named John, suddenly everything becomes 1000X more difficult. However, despite the rising level of difficulty, it is still possible to sort through people. It just takes a little time and lots of creativity.

One of the biggest issues is keeping track of who is who. There may even be couples who have the exact same names, such as two different Patrick Connors married two different Mary Collins. However, you can distinguish them still by finding children and watching the witnesses, but how do you keep it all straight?

I have started using spreadsheets for this purpose. I tend to use Google Sheets as it can be accessed easily from different computers. So if I'm logged on to a computer at a repository or library using their resources, I can still access my spreadsheet without having to download it onto the computer. However, you can use anything that you like, Excel, Word, or even a sheet of paper. One of the reasons I recommend using a digital version is your ability to search within the document. It is also a lot easier to change and move things around.

When you create your spreadsheet, label the column headings and number the rows (if you're not using a digital spreadsheet). Make sure to have a column for EVERY piece of information that you find because you never know what will be valuable. Include exact dates, exact places, witnesses/sponsors, parents names, children's names, priest's names, etc. If you're looking across multiple record types, make a different table for each record type since they will have different information. Then go through and mark similarities. This could be finding parents with the same name and creating a family group out of them, or it could even be as small as a common surname in the sponsors of the children. This may lead you to a parent's extended family as sponsors and witnesses were typically siblings or close cousins.

Example spreadsheet

Example Spreadsheet Large

Take note of how I used different colors to highlight the different similarities. This helps to show which similarity you're looking at. Based on this information, we have two different families, each with a father named John Jennings. However, we know that they are distinctly different because Mary and Ellen were born too close together and yet far enough apart to not be twins and so were Patrick and Honora. This makes it pretty clear that Mary and Ida are two different women and consequently there are two different John Jennings.

Once you've done this and have found a family that you're pretty sure is yours, dig deeper. Maybe it's not them, but you have done reasonably exhaustive research in this area. You can write a note about why you believe it to be them and if more information comes to light later on, you can revise your tree. However, if you use these methods, you will be on the right track to creating a tree you can be proud of and extends generations back. Just be sure to keep the spreadsheet for future reference, so you don't have to do it all over again!

I've included a downloadable spreadsheet with labeled columns below if you want help starting out.

Same Name Spread Sheet.

Download • 8KB