Western Michigan man of mystery

The June issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly includes a switcheroo on the old genealogical chestnut of whether there was one or two or more John Does in a particular jurisdiction. Q coeditor Tom Jones takes on Charles D. McLain, David R./Daniel McLain, and D. McLain -- three (apparently) different men in 19th-century western Michigan, who he proves to be the same one! Try to read this without your head spinning, but remember that this is the kind of careful work required to trace the less prominent, less stable, and less fortunate of our ancestors and relatives.

BTW, NGS members can browse this issue and all others back through 2002 on line.