A Common Research Challenge

If you are researching somebody with a common name, you will likely need to ask: How do I know the person in this record is the same as in that record? You can often resolve this question by examining the relatives described in the different sources. In the following lessons, you will learn how to do this detective work.

Family Context and Identity

Looking at a Veteran in the context of their family can also tell you a great deal about their identity. Did they have many siblings? What was their class, racial, or ethnic background—at least as defined by the categories of the census? If they or their parents were immigrants, what was their birth country? How did their lives change after the war?

Learning Goals

By the end of these lessons, you will know how to use a Veteran’s family members to affirm that they are the correct person in a given record. You will also understand the historical context to think about how a Veteran’s family would have changed, especially after World War II as they may have married and had children.

Lessons in This Section

• Family Structure as a Research Strategy
• Research Challenge: Mildred Aaberg
• Inferring Family Relationships
• Changing Families after World War II
• Marriage & Surnames