Part of a One Name Study is what the Guild of One Name Studies calls “synthesis” – that is trying to put together who fits where in the various branches that bear the name. To me this is the most enjoyable bit!
Fashion is a great hindrance to this. Eric was a very fashionable name back in the 1920s and 30s. So trying to work out which is which is pretty impossible.
That’s where obits and death notices come in useful – they give you some clues, although usually they refer to wives and children, so don’t help you work out who the father was. Just occasionally, and today was one of those occasions, you hit the jackpot – in this case an Eric put in a notice about his brother and mentioned his (Eric’s) wife. As brother had a more unusual name, that enabled me to connect Eric to his rightful place!
The boring bits occasionally bear fruit! Now I wish there were lists of divorces like there are lists of marriages…
Andy Micklethwaite's Family History Blog 