If your family has used the same ancestor to join a lineage society for several generations, it can be shock to find out the ancestor is no longer being accepted by that society. There’s one reason driving most of the rejections: the service is no longer being considered valid. In other words, the things the family claimed the ancestor did during the qualifying time period or event are thought a) not to have occurred or b)to have been conducted by someone else.
Let’s focus on the latter aspect today.
There are two common reasons why an ancestor’s service may later be assigned to someone else. The first is because the service is for someone who lived in a different area. It can be exciting to be linked to a “famous” ancestor: a family with the same surname may link themselves to someone of that surname who served in an area in which their ancestors never resided. The second is because there are multiple people of the same name living in the same area, and the service is a better fit for someone else.
How do you avoid running into these issues?
- To avoid having a conflict about the service area:
- Build a strong timeline for your family. Know where they resided through the entire period in question. Use vital records, church records, probate, tax records, and land records to trace their movements as closely as possible.
- Try to learn a bit about the claimed type of ancestral service worked. For example, during the Civil War, there were some cases of ancestors migrating to enlisted for credit/preferred units/etc. That tended not to happen during the American Revolution. Unless they enlisted in the town just across the border, an ancestor of the same name serving in a different state probably isn’t related to your family. If the service is in the right place for the event, when your family resided there, you have a stronger argument that it’s correct.
- To avoid same name conflicts:
- Confirm which individual of the same name is your ancestor. Look for markers of age; family relationships; residence (especially in counties); occupation and more.
- Pay attention to patterns that were likely markers of age or income. A militia company that elects its officers is more likely to choose the 30 something individual of that name than the 16 year old just starting to serve. A farmer with land isn’t going to sign up for a three year commitment with the Continental Army.
- Associate your ancestor appropriately. If you have varying types of service, work through the evidence to link the right person to the right service. If it’s something you need to build an argument to decide, be sure to put in writing!
Questions? Contact us.