You know them by one name but they are really called.....

I just had something happen that is a lesson for all genealogists and ancestry buffs. I was typing up the family group sheets and realized that I didn't know my husband's Uncle's full name. So I picked up the trusty cell and called my Father-in-law. I know my husband's Uncle as Uncle Tobe and that is what everyone calls him. I as well as my husband assumed that his name was Toby because my brother-in-law Shawn's first name is Toby (after Uncle Tobe). Well you could have called me a monkey's uncle when my Father-in-law told me that his brother's name is Charles. NO WONDER I hadn't  found any information about him!

How do you handle little kinks such as this and how do you go about researching when this happens? I know that by knowing Uncle Tobe's actual name it will make it a lot easier to search records.

Cheers!
Sammee