I had to do some serious digging years ago to get the information on the Carousel of Progress family.
In early drafts of the script, along with early recordings for the world's fair version. We learn that the family's last name is Peabody and that they live in Middleburg USA, however an exec from GE thought that the family should be from Schenectady, NY....zipcode 12345...the birthplace and (now former) headquarters of General Electric. While this was never added in the final version it should be noted that the 1964 version has the mother and father living in suburbia at christmastime admist a snow covered scene. This was changed to EPCOT in the 1967 version, but even the 1994 shows the family can pick up radio signals near Pittsburgh...so unnofically they really might be from Schenectady. Heck even the fridge in the 1940s scene still has the GE logo on it.
Also, they are the same family, but rather you don't literally follow through time. It's the same family, but rather what they might be doing in that decade.
A few things have changed over the years. Patty used to be called Jane. She is still a brunette in Act I, but blond in all the others, yet in the 1975 Version she was a brunette in Act I, II, and IV.
Rover used to be called a different name for each act. There is also a cat in nearly all the scenes.
It was never about actual age progression, as it was seeing what a family might be doing in each respective era, even though the children get older in each scene.
Horizons though did involve the two children being grown up and was the sequel to the carousel of progress.
