Reprint from the Fall 2025 issue of the Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter . In case you missed this useful contribution from  Belle Long, here is your chance to catch up. The link to Belle's in-depth article is included in the body of this post. - CD Disambiguating same named persons in one’s family history is always tricky. Add extra challenge points if those persons were close relations with nearly identical time lines in nearly identical locations. You  really have only two choices. Run away very quickly or dive down that deep rabbit hole.      Success in these complex same-name cases comes from gathering as many data points as possible for each person. These data points provide a richer context of each person’s life and FAN club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors). Contrasting the actions and events of two persons against each other helps make their differences apparent. Careful analysis leads to a solid conclusion about their uniqueness in time and ...