Use Household Timing, Relationships And Independent Identifiers To Avoid Merging Different Residents
An address can connect people to the same household, building, or property, but it does not prove they are the same person. Family members, roommates, tenants, owners, and former residents can all appear in connection with one location. When several names lead back to the same address, create separate candidate profiles before assigning records.
Apartment and unit information matters when it is available. A street address without a unit can make unrelated residents of a multi-unit building appear more closely connected than they are. Preserve the address exactly as each source displays it, including unit designations and the date associated with the record.
Place each person's address evidence on a timeline. One resident may appear at the property in 2018, another in 2022, and a third throughout both periods. The overlap—or lack of it—can help distinguish a family relationship, a later occupant, or a coincidental address association.
Bring in names of spouses, relatives, property owners, or other household members only when the source actually provides them. A shared surname can support a family hypothesis, but it should not erase differences in age, middle name, or chronology. Household context is strongest when several independent details point in the same direction.
Once the residents are separated, revisit records tied to the address and ask which person each one actually names. A property record may concern the owner while another public record concerns a tenant or relative. The fact that both point to the same location does not make their roles interchangeable.
If a source gives only an address and a common name, leave the assignment provisional. A later record with age, middle name, relationship, or another dated address may resolve it. Holding an ambiguous result aside is safer than allowing one shared address to merge two people's histories.
No. They may be relatives, roommates, tenants, successive residents, or otherwise connected to the same property.
It can be highly useful in a multi-unit property because the street address alone may group many unrelated residents.
That supports a possible household or family connection, but age, middle names, relationships, and chronology should still be compared.
Yes. Ownership and residence are separate questions, so identify what role the source actually documents.
Keep it as a possible connection rather than assigning it confidently to a person until another source adds distinguishing information.
