How to find really old info?

[philipsearching]

Is it common for last names to change slightly?

Unfortunately, yes!  Spelling was not standardised, so clergymen wrote what they thought the name sounded like - and as many people were illiterate they would not know how to spell their names.
HARBER could be written as HARBERT, HARPER, HARBOUR, ARBUTT or other variations.  Fortunately, sites such as FreeREG have a "sounds like" type option.

All the best
Philip

[John Harber]

Much appreciated Phillip, thank you.

[bevo]

The FreeReg site has transcriptions for Fillongley.   Soundex brings up a lot of HERBERT and variations, too.

[John Harber]

If the last name varies slightly and multiple people show up but the dates and locations and such are the same, odds are it's the same person correct?

[philipsearching]

If the last name varies slightly and multiple people show up but the dates and locations and such are the same, odds are it's the same person correct?

In rural or small town parishes the probability is that it would be the same person.  My advice would be: if in doubt, ask for a second opinion (Rootschatters have lots of opinions!)

Also: double-check the possible candidate to make sure he/she doesn't turn up elsewhere.  For example if you have a Fred HARBER and have found a baptism for Fred HERBERT, check burials and marriages in nearby parishes to ensure that Fred HERBERT did not die young or marry someone else.

All the best
Philip

[chempat]

i'm pretty sure William had siblings. I only have the direct line from me to William though. no siblings were ever written down save for mine and my fathers.

Have you checked back the tree that you have been given, and looked for siblings as you go backwards?

 How can you be pretty sure that William had siblings, not everybody does?

[jc26red]

There is also a tendency to use naming patterns that far back.  But you do need to find all the children at each generation to be sure.  It was very common to use the grandparent's names for the children. Many families have  names which are commonly used for each generation.  You might find William, Charles or Samuel reappears several times..

[Guy Etchells]

If the last name varies slightly and multiple people show up but the dates and locations and such are the same, odds are it's the same person correct?

No, you have to be far more careful than that.

First you must view images of the original records when there is any doubt to ensure there has been no error in transcriptions (which is surprisingly common) then try to build up relationships and see if the relevant people are named as being in the same relationship on the relevant record. Look for records that name people in family groups such as wills or as witnesses (but be very careful with witnesses as a witness does not have to be in the family group).

It may also help to build short family trees for other families with the same or very similar name (this can/will exclude possibilities).
Look for patterns occurring in the different families (family "A" may have children every years while family "B" may have children every 3 years etc.).
Look for differences is there mention of non conformity (Baptists, Quakers, Methodists etc.).
Look for similarities such as occupations, apparent social status.

Finally never simply accept a record as fitting your family look for other options and try to exclude rather than trying to include the possibilities.

Cheers
Guy

[jc26red]

If the last name varies slightly and multiple people show up but the dates and locations and such are the same, odds are it's the same person correct?

It may also help to build short family trees for other families with the same or very similar name (this can/will exclude possibilities).
Look for patterns occurring in the different families (family "A" may have children every years while family "B" may have children every 3 years etc.).
Look for differences is there mention of non conformity (Baptists, Quakers, Methodists etc.).
Look for similarities such as occupations, apparent social status.

Finally never simply accept a record as fitting your family look for other options and try to exclude rather than trying to include the possibilities.

Cheers
Guy

You put it so much better! 

When I get that far back, I make a spreadsheet of the names with various spellings from the parish records. One each for births, marriages and deaths.  I then sort them into time frame then family groups.  The family groups soon become apparent and the "odd person" usually sticks out.. then I check neighbouring parishes.  If you are lucky, some curates note the father's occupations which can help if there are multiple "John Smiths married to a Mary".