General Chat

do you feel you need before you add someone to your tree? Someone very wise once said to me they feel confident if they have three matching points.

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When I know their dad had a brown dog.:}}}}}}

Depends on the era you mean also on use of common names.

Hello Meercat. I've got a baptism that looks right but don't feel right :s

Kay:) What??

I suppose it depends on how far back you've got. Pre 1837 will leave you with not much more than parish records and wills. But not everybody left a will, or indeed had anything to leave in a will as such, so wouldn't it be very likely that parish records, baptisms, marriages and burials are all you would have, and have all the records survived?

I mean, would you seriously dismiss someone because ALL you can find on them is a faded church record of their baptism to show they ever existed? Even though you may have several points of evidence on their parents, siblings and/or children.

3 pieces.

However, pre 1837 it's a bit more difficult ...

(not much help am I?)

Jill

Teresa, if you have a baptism at the right time in the right place with the right names you're there really pre 1837 although a bit more evidence is always welcome - but there is a lot more to parish records than just baptisms, marriages and burials - you get marriage bonds and poor law stuff, settlement orders and so on - all helps.

Jill, I suppose I just have to *feel* it's right :)

Uggers do you mean a match with other people or from your own findings?

Unless there is documented proof then they go on a maybe possible file till such times any more flesh can go on the bones..
common names can throw spanners in the works,

I just rely on a feeling in me water!

You know I have duplicity and forgery in my tree, but nowadays I just rely on a gut feeling! does that mean that I am as devious as my fore-fathers? I guess it does.

xxx

My own findings, Kay - other people are a bit useless in my experience:) I think you're right - this one I was thinking of isn't a very common name but I keep looking at this baptism every now and again and it never feels right.

My real pain in the backside is with burials for one family at the moment. Driving me mad so it is.

Probably Jac lol

I'm lucky with the Great Budworth parish records because they are really comprehensive and the family were there for a couple of centuries. It's just a shame that they all seemed to choose the same Christian names so it's a pain sorting first cousins out. Warrington too is pretty good and I have found a lot of definite rellies there.

London is going to be the big pain because the main surname is common. I have had to rely on Street addresses to weed possible links out, this has helped but I still have possibles parked until later.

As for my Welsh (Jones) don't ask!...lol

If anyone is going back pre 1813 with East End burials in London on Ancestry, keep your fingers crossed yours are buried at Spitalfields or Shoreditch and not Bethnal Green.

I dont let anyone see my tree however if I am confident of a match then I pass as much information as possible.

Sometimes, I have had to chase siblings and cousins and all sorts just to narrow down my line. Can be interesting but also frustrating.

On some of the commoner lines I sort of give up, so the rarer names are much further back.

One line had land so that helps, another line left wills all over the place so that's really useful and one line had a lot of cousins/second cousins marrying which helped - although that took a while to unpick.

I suppose the thing to bear in mind is that you never really know you're following the right line in one sense do you? All it takes is for Mrs ____ to have a bit of a fling with the butcher and bingo - you're following the wrong family. But you'd never know would you? And although I follow the female lines as well as the male lines I know that there must be errors - because of those unknown elements. So, really, are you that worried? If you are doing the best you can with the evidence available and you're happy with it then what more can you do?

Gut instinct is helpful though ...

Jill

Hayley, I don't mean hot matches, I mean matches with original records. Why don't you let anyone see your tree?

Lynda, I have still a load missing:( The Catholics obviously but some who really should be there:((

I found an adult baptism today Lynda. There was an A in the margin on the image but it was not that clear. He was baptised a few weeks before his marriage.

Jill

most of my Catholic arent to bad as the Sponsor/(our godparent) ones are family members.

Burials Registers are a pain in London as they end up housed miles from the cemetery where youd think they are kept.

David coz its mine......lol

I have a few doubts about just one....and its my GGrandparents wedding cert I have never been able to trace her, she married my Grandfather 1885 I think and he died again 29 and she remarried 18mths later, I am 100% positive I have the correct certs for both marriages however .... she names her father as Daniel on 1 cert and William on anthe other both have different occuptions and all I cant find a trace with Sarah with either one William and Daniel in any census prior to wedding, the names are not that common either for the bride and groom,

Hayley, I am amazed at how often my ancestors altered their names and sometimes threw in an extra one:)

Kay, I need to get to the Catholic Archives in Westminster but last time I contacted them I got Father O'Grumpy who was really unhelpful...