Boston Globe, 3 March 1918.

Is this Samuel H. Vick Jr., who was about 18 years old in 1918 and perhaps drawn to Boston by his uncle Ernest L. Vick?

No, it wasn’t. Though S.H. Vick’s name was also Samuel, he was neither Samuel H. Vick Sr. nor Jr. of Wilson.

In 1918, Samuel Howard Vick registered for the World War I draft in Boston, Massachusetts. Per his registration card, he was born 15 February 1875; lived at 35 Sterling Street, Boston; and worked for the United States Quartermasters Department.

The lesson here, for me and any researcher, is not to assume that a familiar name is a familiar person. Samuel Vick’s prominence in Wilson led a few admirers who shared his surname to name their sons after him. Thus, even in Wilson — much less Boston — documents have to be probed to ensure accurate attribution.