Janice wrote:
> My own question: What are the steps necessary to prove that persons are 
> one
> and the same when appreciable differences of name are present? Is it even
> possible to prove? Who provides the ruling?


Janice, the process and the standard that prevail today--whether we are 
proving identity or kinship--is known as the Genealogical Proof Standard. 
For discussions of it online, you might begin with these two:

"Genealogical Proof Standard," _Board for Certification of Genealogists_ 
(http://www.bcgcertification.org/resources/standard.html).

Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Building a Case When No Record 'Proves' a Point: The 
Genealogical Proof Standard," _Ancestry Magazine_ (March-April 1998), 26-31; 
archived online as "Building a Case When No Record Proves a 
Point,"_Ancestry.com_, 4 April 2000 
(http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Article.aspx?id=803#), "Learning 
Center" module.

Elizabeth

----------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
_Evidence: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian_
  (the "briefcase edition")
_Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts
  to Cyberspace_ (the "desktop reference edition")
_QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resources, Evidence Style_
_Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers,
  Writers, Editors, Lecturers & Librarians_ 

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