I have been confusing myself for days trying to figure out one section of a family, and I was wondering if the more experienced members had advice for when they run into this.
The basic problem I have is that there are many shared first names, and surnames within a small time period.
The specific problem I have is this:
In about 1842, James Spong was born in Chobham, Surrey, England to James Spong and Harriett (confirmed via 1851 census).
In 1845, James Spong was born in Chobham, Surrey, to Isaac Spong.
In 1873, James Spong (Father James Spong), married Elizabeth Gosden (Father James Daborn) in Chobham, Surrey.
So far, so good.
In 1878, James Spong (Father Isaac Spong) marries Elizabeth Spong, in Chobham, Surrey. Listed as Widower/Widow, so, once I found this, I go looking for the death record of James Spong.
I think I have found the death record, in 1875.
I have dug and dug around, and tied myself in knots trying to find the second James Spongs first marriage. The problem I am having is that I know the ages on census forms are not entirely accurate all the time, for a variety of reasons, and also the names/relationships may not be entirely correct, and that "James Spong" may actually have been called something else, but just used the name James, or may have had the name James, and then used something else because his father and one of his children were also called James.
There is also the problem of the uncertainty of who actually married who in that period, as often searches will bring up multiple potential spouse names.
When I use Ancestry, or Findmypast, or MyHeritage to find matches, it seems everyone else is having the same problem.
It is also slightly problematic as these marriages and deaths have fallen between census periods, so in the 1871 census, they were all unmarried, and by 1881, they had married, had their spouse die, and remarried.
Currently I am working on trying to unravel the children of the marriage, as I know that any children born to James Spong (Father Isaac) after 1878 are with his 2nd wife Elizabeth, and that her children from her first marriage were moved to live with their grandparents when their father died.
Any tips for how this is usually unravelled would be gratefully received.