Mike, Find A Grave is mostly volunteers. The memorial you found was created by a volunteer. It will say in the bottom left column who created it.
A marriage certificate: The bride and the groom gave their names. I'd think that they pretty much know their own names (at least in the U.S.). A tombstone: The person is dead, so someone else is giving their names. However, these other people are paying for it. But to name someone Manuel J. Leal instead of Jose Leal da Rosa (when that is what he called himself) is a rather glaring error. Tombstones cost quite a bit of money. IF (giant IF) a death record exists for 1886 for your ancestor (either at the church or city level) see if you can locate that for his name. Most of the U.S. didn't record births and deaths until the 19-teens and it took a while for everyone to be in compliance (Oklahoma took until the 1920s or 1930s, I'm told). What genealogy program are you using? Does it allow for alternate names? Or are you recording these alternate names in the note/memo field? Example (ancestor name, date, event): Manuel, 1886, baptism Manuel de Mello, 1905, marriage (church) Manuel de Mello, 1905, marriage (city level) Manuel J. de Mello, 1907, city directory Manuel de Mello, 1910, U.S. Census Manuel Mello, 1912, city directory Manuel Mello, 1912, son's birth Manuel Mello, blah blah blah Manuel Mello, blah blah blah Manuel Mello, blah blah blah Manuel Mello, blah blah blah So if I look at all my evidence, I can tell my guy was consistent and dropped the "de" part somewhere in the early 1910s. And the one where he was Manuel J? Just a fluke or I have the wrong Manuel. If you enter alternate names somewhere in your genealogy program, it will help you analyze your evidence and come to the right conclusion. Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
