One thing she said which caught my ear was that people went by names other than their given name in the 19th century. It was the century of ‘nicknames’, although that is a modern interpretation - most people recognized them as their ‘family name’.
In fact, there are whole sections devoted to these names on the Internet that you may find helpful in breaking down those brick walls, because today we may know a person by their “nickname”, but they will still use their given name when asked for it on an official document.
In fact, when I was growing up, I was known as ‘Beth’ and not Elizabeth, because there were two other Elizabeth’s in the neighbourhood, and one of them lived directly across the street from me. I wasn’t known as Elizabeth until I went away to university.
There are two site that I use quite frequently, and they are -
Useful English: Women's Names and Nicknames
http://usefulenglish.ru/vocabulary/womens-names
Useful English: Men’s Names and Nicknames
http://usefulenglish.ru/vocabulary/mens-names
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