The principle of “one and the same” asks genealogists to demonstrate that one or more records refers to the same person. Most of the time, that starts with looking at name matches. It typically moves onto correlating other details, such as birth and death dates, family members, occupations, and more. In recent years, the Mayflower Society has to place great importance on this principle.
The focus is specifically driven by colonial era marriage records. Particularly in New England, colonial era marriage records often list only the names of the bride and groom, their date of marriage, and the presider. Because there are so few details in the record, it can be easy to mix up same name individuals.
As a result, GSMD (and sometimes other societies) has started to ask for additional confirmation that the couple are linked to each other and to their parents. Migration patterns can provide a hint: if the bride’s parents are not in the area at the time of the marriage, it’s likely the record is for someone else of the same name. In the South, parents may have had to sign off on the marriage bond. Later records can also be helpful. Families sometimes bought or sold land from each other or left an inheritance to a daughter under a married name.
Establishing one and the same early on may feel like overdocumenting the line. Yet, it’s become normal for societies to request the additional record, just to ensure the line is as well documented as possible. Preparing never hurts.