First Names

    One of the most confusing things with researching your roots is the numerous times the same names occur in a family or were popular during a certain time period. It is a time honored family tradition to name children after parents and other family members.

    Do not expect to find the "Sr." or "Jr." after the names of fathers and sons, although this is fortunate if you do.

From the 1800s to today there are many instances of:

Alexander Kilpatrick(s) (Alma, Upham, Penobsquis and Woodstock area);

John (Jack) Kilpatrick(s);

James Kilpatrick(s);

Joseph Kilpatrick(s); (Charlotte, Kings, and Saint John Counties) 

Lovica (Lovey) Kilpatrick(s);

Margaret Kilpatrick(s); (several in Saint John)

William Kilpatrick(s); (found in Saint John, Penobsquis amongst other places)

Samual Kilpatrick(s) (found in upham and Saint john)

  Some are Grandfather, father and son etc. but others seem to have distant or no known connection. Perhaps they share common ancestry with other people with the same christian names?  Look for known family members and other Kilpatricks in the same area. You may find a link in an earlier generation.

Common Research Mistakes

  One of the biggest mistakes people make when researching their roots is to rely too much on a date from a source being absolutely correct. Sometimes they can have an error of 2-5 years. For example a census might indicate that a person was 10 years old in 1851. That might not mean he or she was born in 1841, depending on the date of the census and the person's birth date, they could have been born in in 1840,1841 or 1842.      Sometimes even a person's headstone dates could conflict with census information and other vital statistics.

  Another common mistake is to look exclusively for sources by only the person's first name. Many people often went by their middle names, or had affectionate nicknames used by other family members.

Examples of Name Variations:

Henry: Hank;

James: Jim;

John: nickname Jack

Kathleen: Kate, Katie, Katherine, Kathlene;

Lovica: Lovey, Lavica, it has been entered as Louisa in Census Transcripts;

Margaret: Marge, Maggie;

Rosanna: Rose Anne, Rose;

Samual: Samuel, Sam;

William: Will, Bill.

  It is important to examine these different name possibilities. A person could have one christian name on a birth certificate and a different spelling or alternate name in census, newspaper sources or even their head stones.

  For example, my Grandmother was born "Catherine" but her headstone is spelled "Katherine". A GreatAunt of mine was born "Kathlene" but her headstone says "Catherine".