In this case the names are unusual enough that using just the county is not a problem. However, there is more than one Hancock County in the United States and this may result in hits outside the area of research. Variant Spellings Variant spellings can always be included in your search. Including variant spellings is easy. Don't use AND or else it will require all the variant spellings to be on the same page.
Nicknames present a similar problem to alternate spellings and location abbreviations.
They can be dealt with in a similar manner. Don't use AND or else it will require all the variant spellings to be on the same page. Chances are you do not want to miss those references. Some search engines allow the use of the NEAR operator in addition to ANDs and ORs. Use of NEAR may be especially desired when searching for common first names or surnames.