BOYD NIELSEN 6-AXIS CONFLATION AUDIT CASE STUDY

Separating Same-Name Contemporaries: John Harris Sr. (c. 1733–1829, Campbell Co., VA) vs. Capt. John Harris (1765–1810, Shelby Co., KY)

PedigreeProof is a new way of searching for tools and searching for family history records when people are looking for proof on their ancestors. In colonial Virginia and early Kentucky research, burned counties (such as Buckingham County, Virginia) and rapid westward migration routinely cause online trees to merge two men of the same name into a single impossible biography.

1. The 6-Axis Forensic Separation Matrix

When auditing the Harris lineage (10,368 individuals in the Boyd Nielsen Legacy 9.0 master file), PedigreeProof evaluates every candidate identity merge across six independent evidentiary axes:

Axis 1 — Chronology & Age

John Harris Sr. was born c. 1733–1736 (sworn age 84 in his 1820 Revolutionary War pension declaration S38011) and died in 1829 in Campbell County, Virginia. Capt. John Harris was born 14 March 1765 in Albemarle County, Virginia and died in 1810 in Shelby County, Kentucky—a 30-year generational gap.

Axis 2 — Geography & Tax Residence

John Harris Sr. appears continuously on Campbell County, Virginia personal property tax lists through 1828 along Falling River, whereas Capt. John Harris removed to Shelby County, Kentucky by 1797 where his estate inventory was recorded in 1810.

Axis 3 — Spousal & Dower Identity

Deed dower relinquishments and probate distributions distinguish the Campbell County household from the Albemarle/Shelby County household without overlapping widow claims.

Axis 4 — Military Service & Rank

John Harris Sr. served as a Private in Capt. Thomas Leftwich's and Capt. Charles M. Collier's Virginia Continental Line companies (NARA Pension S38011), distinct from militia officers styled Captain in Albemarle and Kentucky records.

Axis 5 — FAN Club & Neighbors

Witnesses, chain-carriers, and adjacent landowners in Campbell County (Falling River / Hat Creek) form a completely separate cluster from the Shelby County, Kentucky settlement network.

Axis 6 — Estate & Heirs Proof

An 1810 Shelby County, Kentucky decedent cannot execute sworn federal pension affidavits in Campbell County, Virginia Court in 1818 and 1820.

2. Ready-to-Paste Legacy 9.0 SourceWriter Override Citations

Every disambiguation check generates primary-source citations formatted to Boyd Nielsen's Legacy 9.0 SourceWriter Override standard:

1. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, M804, Roll 1199, Application S38011, John Harris (Virginia Line, Campbell County, Virginia, 1818–1820), images 1–19 (database https://www.fold3.com/). Sworn declaration of John Harris Sr. [sic], age 84 in 1820, resident of Campbell County, Virginia.

2. Library of Virginia (LVA), Campbell County, Virginia, Personal Property Tax Lists, 1785–1829, Microfilm Reel 63, annual tithable returns for John Harris Sr. [sic] on Falling River, distinguishing him from contemporary younger John Harris tithables.

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