Should I use Terms like Jr. or Reverend in Family Tree?

[@batya7]

I also use the Name fact to record the person's Jewish or Hebrew name. For example, Jacob son of David is Yaakov ben David, or יעקב בן דוד, in Hebrew script. We find these names on headstones. Another example of this is that my family and I have English legal names on documents, but we are known by our Hebrew names - quite common in Jewish families.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you for adding that as well. I should have added it to the video.

[@LindaSchreiber]

I've also seen "Jr" and "Sr" used for other relationships. Not a lot, but it happens, especially in older records. Like your tax record example, two men with the same first and last name in the area. They can be listed as Jr and Sr but that helps the clerk know which is the younger and older. Sometimes these are really nephew and uncle.... They weren't creating these records for the convenience of future genealogists. They were creating them so the clerk could record who had paid what in taxes, and keep them straight in his own head.

[@glennberry4829]

Indeed. This was standard practice in Colonial New England. The same individual could be Jr until the former Sr died, then Sr to a third man of the same name. As genealogists we need to pay attention to what these terms mean in each time and place.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for the insight! You are so right.

[@feliciagaffney1998]

Quakers used it too, when recording their meeting minutes, to distinguish between people with the same name, one older than the other, but not parent/ child.

[@Carlaparrott-d6z]

Your videos are so helpful. I save them so I can go back and remember a tip you said in that video. I just purchased All Access with Ancestory and it is well worth it. If I want to find out things I can’t see I have to pay for it. It is helping me find information. Thank you Aimee.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you! I’m so glad to hear the videos help.

[@BobTheSchipperke]

I tend to do I, II, III if I have to as junior and senior changes. (Once one dies they tend to switch.). I try to not though as they often were not that at birth. I tend to put nicknames I choose in quotes.

[@AncestryAimee]

I’ve done that as well (I, II, III). But don’t use quotes.

[@annatomasso5226]

I don't use it my tree, however, when a relative is asking and I am hand writing I do. Specifically for my Irish side, as I have 4 generations of women with the same first and middle name.

[@AncestryAimee]

That makes sense!

[@mariapark2374]

Aimee! This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Thank you so much for clarifying how to handle it. ❣️🙏❣️

[@AncestryAimee]

You're so welcome!

[@williamduling7883]

Excellent video! Thank you.

[@AncestryAimee]

I am glad you found it helpful!

[@myrnacoubrough4713]

Really helpful. Thanks for clearing this up.

[@AncestryAimee]

You’re welcome!

[@Elke_KB]

Good tips! Our Can/UK military ancestors have lots of titles and letters....I never know what to do with them all, ie Gen. Sir James, Colonel/Doctor, KC or QC for the lawyers, etc, etc. I started using the alternate name field a while ago, makes everything much cleaner and organized. Now I just need to go back and find all those other names to be corrected.

[@AncestryAimee]

I have a few that way too... from years ago. Thanks for commenting!

[@susandevinenapoli7649]

There are 12 John Devine Men that do get my Dad mixed up with other men. I have been very specific on Family Search about his activities in his life because of it. Btw, he's a Jr. too. According to the relationship tool on there, I am related to seven of them.

[@homesteadrevivals]

How about multiple iterations of a last name? Can you put several different last names in the last name "box" on Ancestry, without messing up the search function?

[@AncestryAimee]

You can I believe. Just don’t hyphenate them.

[@southerndigest8996]

My person's given name was Walter, but his family gave him the nickname "Billy". He appears in many records under the name Billy (three high school yearbooks, numerous newspaper articles, etc. He was an all-star athlete in football and baseball, so the local papers wrote about him a lot). Once he began his professional career, his name shows up as Walter in all the records. My concern is this: If I put the nickname in as an AKA, and it doesn't affect the searches, wouldn't I have missed getting a hit on all those records? Or am I missing something in what you said?

[@AncestryAimee]

You’re right. Add another name field. Then it will show up on searches.

[@russemerson1358]

Do periods matter in the first (and middle) name field? I used to work at the post office. Funniest letter name was addressed to FAT Thomas Grimes. Back when databases only took 3 characters in that field. Took a moment to realize that they meant Father Thomas. 😊

[@AncestryAimee]

I don’t think they matter in those fields. It’s a matter of choice whether or not to add periods.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for being a channel member too!

[@MarkADavisAZ]

I would avoid assuming a Junior/Senior in tax or other official records is a father/son relationship. I have found several examples where that has been used to differentiate two unrelated or other related (grandson/cousin/uncle) to refer to an older and younger individual in the same location.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for pointing that out, that was a careless statement on my part.

[@MarkADavisAZ]

@@AncestryAimee No worries, it's just one of those oddities that make research so enjoyable.

[@Jan-xp8yi]

What is frustrating is on FS someone has added the same Birth name multiple times or the indexed name (which may or may not be correct), it’s too confusing

[@AncestryAimee]

Agreed

[@roberthowe321]

I have an ancestor who was born "John Sampson", sometime around his 18th birthday he moved to another state and changed his name to "John Dresser". This was right around the civil war (maybe avoiding the draft?). He lived another 60 years under this new name as a very successful person. What would be the best way to document his name in Ancestry?

[@AncestryAimee]

Great question! I would add another name field for him. I use birth names as preferred names but that is a personal choice. I can see good reasons for either.

[@BobTheSchipperke]

The big thing is to know what not to do. Is in quotes okay to do? Does it mess with Ancestry?

[@AncestryAimee]

Good point. Don’t use quotes. I should have made that more clear. Add another name or also known as field.

[@treeclimber2]

I use it when THEY use it. If I find it on a record, I use it. It's helpful to keep people straight. And I use it if it's on the gravestone.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for sharing what works best for you. 👍

[@cathyc6725]

Very helpful!

[@AncestryAimee]

Happy to hear that

[@SusanG-qv2wr]

Really helpful. But.... i watched three times and just can't keep up with you. Your familiarity with Ancestry means that the important first click on the screen to go to the starting place for the entry passes before I can see it. Suggestion: stop talking for a second or two and show the ancestry screen, then click in the tree or the drop-down list. E.g, are you clicking on the actual tree page , or the profile page, or a little tools box with a long drop-down? I love your work. But teachers always have to try to remember what it was like NOT to know. You go to the right box automatically, but I need time to search for it. Keep being Fabulous!

[@AncestryAimee]

What TERRIFIC suggestions! Thank you for taking the time to share them. I will work on that. I know I talk quickly too. Some people love it... quick and to the point, but I understand your difficulty. I'll work on it.

[@maureentaphouse5206]

That's the difference ,we are all trained to keep in mind the new learner when doing any kind of training. Non trainers have to learn this and the pausing to give trainees time to see and absorb what is being explained to them. It is a skill that has to be learnt just like any other.

[@maureentaphouse5206]

What about the situations where my ancestors reused common names time and time again so the only way to know which generation a "william morgan " belongs to is to put his birth date in brackets after the surname. I have so many repetitions on the male and female Morgan line that I have used this approach for every ancestor. My question is - does that affect the search results and if so how do I adjust the names ? My ancestors on my line mainly lived in a 15 mile radius of where I was born in Wales and were ag labs mainly moving between small farms . Surprising despite this I have yet to find any marriages of ancestors from each side of my lines. They managed not to intermarry which is quite an achievement for a small rural area.

[@d.t.r.8036]

Both Ancestry and FamilySearch appear to ignore the "suffix" field when searching. I use that field on ancestry for all sorts of things so if they used it for searching, I would have discovered that ages ago. Lol. And at some point in the past, I tested it out on family search so that I would know for their site.

[@d.t.r.8036]

Re: lack of marriage docs I am not familiar with Wales record keeping practices, but my gut says go to the local church(es) directly (not during holy days/seasons though) and ask what they have on your kin. Disregard if that's something you've already done or thought of.

[@AncestryAimee]

In those situations, I understand, just use the suffix field. When I'm writing a report I use their year of birth next to their name to make things clear, but that would be strange in a tree suffix field. You are fine to do whatever in that suffix field - use that in a way that works for you.

[@maureentaphouse5206]

@@d.t.r.8036 sorry I don't understand your comment. I have no problem with marriage documents . I was asking about how the inclusion of a birth date after the surname might affect Ancestry's ability to search for records on my people.

[@d.t.r.8036]

@@maureentaphouse5206 "Surprising despite this I have yet to find any marriages of ancestors from each side of my lines."

[@frankhooper7871]

I put "Jr" in the suffix field if records indicate it. I would never put "Sr" though, but I _might_ record it as an "also known as". My reasoning? Nobody is born a "Sr"; they only become one after naming their child. Same reason we record women using their maiden name; they only take the husband's name after marriage.

[@AncestryAimee]

I like that reasoning. Thanks for sharing it!

[@richardoneal1055]

Early tax records may list two men with the same name in the same district as a Jr or Sr because of their age difference but they may not be father and son. Just as often uncle and nephew.

[@AncestryAimee]

Good point! Thanks for adding that Richard.

[@margaretford1011]

On Find-a-Grave, someone listed my grandfather as “Sr.”. I offered an edit to his memorial, adding his full birth information and so forth, plus I removed the “Sr” in my request. I removed it because his son, who had started out as “Jr”, eventually became “Sr” after having a son of his same name. So, two men with “Sr” after their name after they died? It seems silly to me. I can see having it there when you’re alive, for the benefit of others, to distinguish yourself from your kid with the same name, but it seems confusing to have it in a memorial in a case like this. Nevertheless, my request to remove it was denied because “the obituary included it. “

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s interesting. I haven’t tried that on Find A Grave. I agree with you. Thanks for sharing it. Good illustration of the confusion.

[@anitacsa1]

Catholic sisters (nuns) use Sr. As a title.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for adding that!

[@bradkarlzahn-bp6jx]

Really love your videos, Aimee... probably going to hit you up for some professional help someday.... I've got about as far as I can on most branches....this is all such great advice... I really need to do a tree on Ancestry... I've invested hours upon hours on Familysearch... Happy Holidays and a happy and healthy New Year to you and the Fam, Aimee! Greetings from New Hampshah! 🇺🇸🗽🇺🇸🎗️🇺🇸⚖️🇺🇸🫶🙏 SUVCW, PVT. Lawrence D. Cooley, Co. F, 10th NH VOL INF REG Wounded at Cold Harbor 3 JUN 1864

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I am here to help if you need it! I can also help you with transferring information to Ancestry. You’re right. You should put it there too because it won’t be changed. 😄 And Happy Holidays to you as well! Thanks for being a channel member.

[@robertshade8631]

@@AncestryAimeeI’m curious if there are any family cultural links in your family to Mediterranean,Greece or Northern Africa?