Matching opinion

Question

Hi all,

I am looking for some opinions on matching.  I have a record of a birth where the date almost matches an existing profile (March 23, 1711 vs. March 17, 1711) and the name and location are the same.  The existing profile has a marriage of which I have no knowledge and I have her parents which are unknown in the profile.  I suspect that these are the same but not totally certain.  Would you match these or create a new profile in the hopes that somebody with more information will match them later?

Thanks,  Bob

Comments

One reason for differences of a few days, as in this case, is that the earlier one is the real birth date and the second is a Baptism or Christening.  A lot of times the Birth date was properly entered, a long time ago,  as before the date of the baptism but later family historians, seeing an exact date just entered it without the notation.  But that's what we're here for to; correct accumulate errors.

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In this case there's only one known source.  A compilation of Groton records was published in the 1920s, and websites have transcriptions of it.  Images are also online, and the date printed was 23rd.

The compilers collated court, church and bible records with the town clerk's records, but they only found the one for Lydia.

The Varnum book was published in 1907, so it didn't get its information from the Groton book.  But it probably got it from the same manuscript.  Somebody has miscopied it, and without images of the original, we don't know who.

The Varnum book doesn't cite its sources.  But presumably they only found the same marriage record that's in the Groton book, with no information about the bride's parents, and jumped to the same conclusion in linking it with the birth.  Not that it's at all unreasonable, but it's not evidence.

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Thanks,  My source is Caleb Butler's "History of Groton" which was published in 1848.  It clearly lists Lydia b. March 23, 1711 of Jonathan and Elizabeth.  Whether this is the Lydia Boyden who married Jonas Varnum seems very likely but as you said, not proven.

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Which means we probably do have two independent transcriptions, and the Varnum book miscopied it from the Butler book.

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Hi Bob, I've been away from Wikitree for a bit. Have updated Lydia's info. Hope you find her in good shape now.

Answer 1

Go to the source The Varnums of Dracutt  https://archive.org/stream/varnumsofdracutt1907varn#page/n109/mode/2up/search/Boyden. It has yet another birthdate for Lydia. Mar 12, 1710/11

Vital Records https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027316614;view=1up;seq=42   have the 23 but she is definitely daughter of the same couple listed in The Varnums of Dracutt.  You've got the same person. With birth date errors/differences.

 

Comments

Vital records spell Lydia's LNAB Boiden.

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They also seem to give the marriage date as 1734/5 not 1733/4.

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Great, thanks, certainly the same person.  I will add her parents.