Thanks, Bruce.

I use an index of how common a last name, first name, and a "sounds like" code of the full name are. Where "Smith" is 1.00, and "Zweifel" is 0.00, "Simpson" is 0.08.

Where "John" is 1.00 and "Abler" is 0.00, "Benjamin" is 0.10. Where and name beginning with "William A Mc..." is 1.00, and "Bedford, A" is 0.02, "Benjamin F Simpson" is 0.07.

These indicies are based on the 34,071 records that I currently have in my database. Each time I add a new regiment I recalculate the indicies. I then use these to "flag" records for folks in different regiments who might be the same person.

I continue to provide the system with more feedback everytime I research a particular "match", and get evidence as to whether or not two individuals with the same name are the same person.

At this point I am hearing that the Benjamin F Simpson in the Cass County Home Guard, and the one in the 15th KS Cav are the same person, but the one in the 3rd MO Cav is a different person. I have used this information to assist with making correct choices on other apparent matches.

I know this is all very dry and academic, but it is allowing me to make pretty accurate "guesses" as to whether or not two records with the same name are the same person. Using the "sounds like" code, I am able to determine that two people whose names are spelled differently are actually the same.

Quantrill is not my main interest. My main interest are people in Cass County, Missouri, and Eudora, Kansas, during the Kansas/Missouri War. Since, however, there is a great deal of information fairly easily available on Quantrill's Partisan Rangers, I am using the system to track those members who served in other regiments either before joining Quantrill, or after leaving his group. The results have been very good.

Units I am more interested in are the Cass County Home Guard (USA), the 2nd Batallion MO Cavalry (USA), the 8th Batallion MO Infantry (CSA), and the 9th MO Infantry (CSA). Since I know that almost all the companies of the 8th btln Inf were transferred to the 9th MO Infantry, and the soldiers remained in the same companies, I can use them as a reference to check the validity of the "rules" the system is using.

Other reference units I am using are the Pike County Home Guard, the 7th IL Inf, and the 106th IL Inf. I have researched these units in the past, and now a lot about many of the soldiers. Illinois also has a good deal of information available "on-line" which I can use to verify that two records are for the same, or different, individuals. Again, this allows me to fine-tune the search procedure.

Thanks for you help. You know a whole lot about this subject, and you have helped me a lot in the past.