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Stuart0742

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Lyn

Thank you so much - thats all very useful information for me and others who are just starting out.

I was wondering which line to follow first, but from what you have said I am probably better starting out with my Dad's family first. I have more documentary evidence for his side of the family, but unfortunately he died young at aged 48, followed two weeks later by his Sister aged 36 and 6 months later by his father. :( So my chances of talking to relatives on his side are long gone, but I am lucky to have some photos and death/marriage certificates to start off with.

I dont live in or near Sheffiled any more so am more tied to using online services, but on my next visit, probably in the Summer, I shall take some time to try and do research from libraries as suggested. Would that be my best bet?

Thank you again to everyone for their invaluable comments/advice posted so far.

Don't worry to much about not living locally, these days most research can be done online, well the 1st 170 or so years.

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At the library they are subscribed to ancestry.com not ancestry.co.uk. When I first started out on this journey I was told that to access the free library subscription I had to put in ancestrylibrary.com to access it otherwise it wouldn't work.

There is an option to search by British things first instead of American ones. Also bear in mind that you don't know where your research will take you. There is a possibility in one line of my family that they emigrated to Australia and another to America so by them subscribing to .com instead of .co.uk it leaves options like this open.

If you want to meet up with me sometime for me to help you with this then I am happy to do so - and anyone else.

Good Luck.

Jo

Thanks for the offer babybluejojo, but I think what I am going to do after reading all these posts on here from members that I trust and value the comments of is give Ancestry another try, a sort of "second chance". I can sign up for another free trial on their site and i am tempted to try both the .com and .co.uk versions to see excatly what the difference is.

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Lyn

Thank you so much - thats all very useful information for me and others who are just starting out.

I was wondering which line to follow first, but from what you have said I am probably better starting out with my Dad's family first. I have more documentary evidence for his side of the family, but unfortunately he died young at aged 48, followed two weeks later by his Sister aged 36 and 6 months later by his father. :( So my chances of talking to relatives on his side are long gone, but I am lucky to have some photos and death/marriage certificates to start off with.

I dont live in or near Sheffiled any more so am more tied to using online services, but on my next visit, probably in the Summer, I shall take some time to try and do research from libraries as suggested. Would that be my best bet?

Thank you again to everyone for their invaluable comments/advice posted so far.

Lyn

re your post #24

I agree fully with suzy here.

What a brilliant detailed post, full of good sensible advice on researching a family tree.

You have put a lot of thought and time into this post and it is much appreciated, thanks.

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Some of this I wrote ages ago (before there was so much info online so may be slightly out of date - e.g.1911 census now online

Census returns

The census has taken place every 10 years since 1801 apart from 1941. There is a 100 year confidentially clause on these, which means the latest one we can see is the 1901. The earlier ones between the years 1801 to 1831 were simply intended as a head count and very few remain in existence. However it is hoped that the 1911 census will be released early though certain details will not be allowed to be seen until 2011 due to the 100 year closure rule. It will be digitised only unlike the 1901 which was available both on fiche and later digitised. All census material from 1841 through to 1901 is now available on www.ancestry.co.uk website and is often freely available on computer at most family history centres or Archives as well as 'view by subscription' at home.

1841. This does not give a lot of information. It simply tells us the names of people in the household and their occupation. Everyone over 14 years of age had their ages rounded down to the nearest 5 e.g. someone of 39 or 36 would be put down as 35 yrs. It does not give their relationship to the head of the household and simply asks if they were born in this county. It would be easy for someone to simply say yes when in fact they were not born there.

1851 - 1901. These give a lot more information such as the relationship to the head of the household, correct age and place of birth. Bear in mind though that many of our ancestors could not read and write so therefore it was up to the enumerator to fill in the form and he might not have been very literate either. People also were not sure of their age especially those that were born before civil registration began. Children were sometimes given the wrong ages on the census to cover up the fact that they working when in fact they shouldn't have been. They may also have been brought up in a different place to where they were born and were not aware they were giving the wrong place of birth. The 1891 census usually tells how many rooms there are in a house if there were less than five.

An example of simple mistake. A line of my husband's family was born in Preston Gubbals in Shropshire but in the 1881 census were living in Widnes in Lancs. The enumerator assumed that the Preston they referred to was the one in Lancashire. It could have sent me on a wild goose chase had I not known otherwise. Always keep an open mind and if 'stuck' use a gazetteer to find another possible area.

It is important to try and find your family in every census for the simple reason that it helps you discover what happened in their lives. A little peek at 10 year intervals helps put the flesh on the bones, discover things you might not otherwise have known about.

Monumental Inscriptions.

Gravestones in many churchyards are deteriorating with age and in some cases with vandalism. Many are knocked down (sometimes needlessly) for Health and Safety reasons. Fortunately many of the earlier ones have been indexed and transcribed by the Family History Societies or other individuals, making the search that much easier. Often additional information can be found about relationships as other people, usually family members, are often buried in the same grave. Usually there is a plan of the graveyard available enabling you to find the grave quite easily.

Also a useful source of information can be the death notices in the local newspapers which have become more common over the last 50 years for most people. Again it can give relationships you may not have been aware of. Some local papers such as the Hoyland, Chapeltown, Penistone & Stocksbridge Express often carry full reports of the marriages and burials of local people giving details such as what the bride wore and presents received to who the mourners were at the funeral.

Wills.

Wills proved before 1858 can be found in the County Record Office. After this they will be found in the National Archives in London. Cost is usually around £5 a copy if you can give date of death and date the will was proved. This information can often be found by searching the probate calendars. Sheffield Archives has the probate calendars that can lead to copies being able to be obtained from the Borthwick Institute at York.

It is more common nowadays for most people to make a will and it is easy to think that if our ancestors were poor they wouldn't have made one but this is often a mistaken assumption. Many did make wills even if they were relatively poor. They may have had tools or property that they wanted to leave to the oldest son and also to ensure that the widow they left behind would be looked after during the rest of her life. The early wills can tell us a lot about the person. Their trade or occupation, the type of house they lived in and the number of children they still had living at the time of the will. It will quite often give a daughter's married surname. Women were not allowed to leave money or property until 1882 unless they were widows or spinsters. All property belonging to a woman became her husband's on their marriage until this date.

Parish Registers

Parish records, the recording of baptisms, marriages and burials, were recorded from 1538 but very few of the early ones survived as they were often poorly kept on loose pieces of paper and were lost or destroyed over time. In 1597 ministers were ordered to keep records in bound registers and to copy out all records back to 1558. Often the earlier records are poor, badly written and difficult to read as well as being written in Latin. Records from the 1800s onwards are usually more reliable but here again the information they contained very much relied upon the person recording it. Many registers are in poor condition; the ink having faded or the pages disintegrating if the conditions they were kept in were poor. Nowadays these records can be searched in the Archives local to the area in which the parishes are. They are usually on microfilm or microfiche although some Archives still do use the original registers. In every archive/ record office there is usually a Phillimores Atlas and Index. This is excellent for establishing which parishes covered which areas at the time you are researching in. I always photocopy the relevant county and keep it in my Family History binder for reference. When searching the reference books in the Archives for the records of the particular parish you are interested in, always look at what other documents may be available relating to that particular parish. E.g. Apprenticeship records, bastardy bonds, marriage licences……. Our ancestors' lives were often ruled by the church.

Should you need to search a parish register that is still at the church do be aware that there is a charge for this. Again this is not cheap, though not all churches charge for a simple 'lookup'.

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

This was compiled by the Mormon Church and is still being added to today. On fiche and now available on computer it is being constantly updated. In the 1930's the Mormon Church had some of its members travelling around the world filming, where permission could be obtained, all church records relating to births and marriages. This was then nationally indexed, county indexed and surname indexed. The index also contains records submitted by church members who have researched their own families. It is a very useful tool in aiding us to discover our ancestors but again as with any index or transcription, treat with caution. Any transcription it is open to errors. Always check the originals where possible. Not all parishes are included in the IGI. To the right hand side of the fiche are a series of dates and numbers that are not relevant to us. These are the dates when certain ordinances were carried out or details submitted by church members. The only one that can be relevant is the first column after the place the event took place in. Usually there is a date in it. If there isn't and it simply says CHILD, this usually indicates that that particular child died before reaching the age of eight years. Again there can be an element of unreliability so do check the original register to verify things.

National Burial Index.

This is a fairly recent task being undertaken by some Family History Societies who jointly, using volunteers have started to index burials in their particular area. It is a large project with still a long way to go. Usually the relevant societies will sell the fiche or CD-ROMs relevant to their area but it is also possible to purchase the ones already done for various areas on a set of CD's for around £35. Again my usual warning, it is a transcription so therefore open to errors.

Boyd's Marriage Index

This is an index of marriages that had taken place between 1538 and 1837. It is surname and forename indexed and in 25 year sections for both bride and groom. It does not contain all the marriages that took place but can be useful if a search in the usual sources has proved unsuccessful.

Useful tips.

Always work backwards with your research. Via your parents, grandparents and great grandparents etc. If you pick up your family name in say the 1870s and try to work forwards to yourself you are more likely to make mistakes and 'climb' someone else's tree.

When researching records always, always make a note of the reference number of each particular record. That way, if you need to go back to check or do further research, you will find it much more easily. It also saves you going through all the same records twice. Make a note of other people with the same surname in the area you are researching in. You may find later that they are related to the person you are trying to find out about.

Pencils only are allowed in all record offices. It is useful to take a magnifying glass with you. Remember the further back you go the less reliable are ages and the spelling of names.

Make a plan of what you wish to look at before you go to the Archives. You may not be able to look at the records you require that day so have something else planned to do. Remember also that the Archivist is not there to help you do your research and can only advise you of the records you may require if you have some idea of what it is you need to do. It is your family history not theirs.

Always bear in mind that many of our ancestors could not read or write so the spellings of names were often wrong or can change quite a bit over the years. If you can't find your family where they should be 'think around' the name. Think what it could sound like in different accents. Pinch your nose as if you have a cold and try pronouncing it: see how different it can sound. Think how else it may have been written down. Think of the old fashioned writing and how a name can be wrongly transcribed. T, F and S can all look similar. W can look like a H. H can look like an R. Ages at death are often incorrect and you will frequently find that families used the same Christian names from generation to generation. Often a newborn child would bear the same Christian name as that of a brother or sister who had previously died.

Lost your ancestors in the mid to late 1800's? They were there in 1861 but not there in 1851? Try the GRO index for the birth of a sibling preferably one you know was born near to a census year. If you find one you're sure is likely to be theirs then either look in the relevant parish registers for the area or send for the certificate which hopefully will have their address on it. If you need to look at other surrounding parishes this is where the Phillimores Atlas & Index comes in very useful in pointing you in the right direction.

Always, wherever you go to do your research, ask if there is an index or a transcription of the records you want to look at. If you find what you want, always check the original document. All transcriptions and indexes are open to errors and who knows you may find extra information in the original entry.

Copy old, fragile photographs and store them safely. Archival quality transparent album pages can be purchased from good photography shops such as Jessops. Ordinary transparent album pages, can over a period of time deteriorate and cause damage to treasured photographs. It is well worth making up an album of not just photographs of your ancestors but also present day family members to go alongside your family history. Some genealogy programmes do allow you to scan in and paste your photos on the relevant pages.

If you have an uncommon or unusual surname it might be worthwhile seeing if there is a one name study for it. Usually there will be someone collecting all available information relating to that particular name and they may have some useful details. The Guild of One-Name Studies (GOONS) produces a book annually with up to date details - 'Register of one-name studies'. A copy can usually be found in all record offices. www.one-name.org

Abbreviations commonly used in Genealogy

b - born

d o b - date of birth

d - died

d unm - died unmarried

d s p - died without children

l - left descendants

d or dau - daughter

s - son

div - divorced

= - married

Baseborn, spurious and merrybegot all refer to illegitimacy.

Latin was still in use until 1733 and some churches still continued to use it after this.

baptizalus erat - baptism

nupti erat - marriage

conjugat - marriage

sepult erat - burial

uxor ejus - his wife

filia - daughter

filius - son

ancilla - servant

decessit sine prole - died without children

paup - pauper

vidau - widow

Have fun - I'm sure you'll enjoy researching as much as I have.

Lyn

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And some more -

Useful Publications

Practical Family History Magazine

Family Tree Magazine

These contain articles on all aspects genealogy, social history, occupations, dating of photographs, computers in family history to name just a few. Both are published monthly - obtainable from WH Smith or by annual subscription.

Books

First Steps in Family History - Anthony J Camp

Beginning your Family History - George Pelling

The Family Tree Detective - Colin Rodgers

Tracing your Family Tree - Jean Cole & John Titford.

There are countless books available to buy or better still to borrow from your local library. At first it is like learning a whole new language and makes little sense until you begin to put it into practice. Useful guides to census, parish, burial, monumental inscriptions and Bishop's transcripts records that are held in Sheffield are available from the Sheffield Archives or the Sheff. Family History Society for a pound or two each.

Family History Societies.

Most areas have a Family History Society that covers the area your family lived in. It can be very helpful to join them especially if you don't live in that area yourself. The cost usually ranges from £6 - £12 annually and you will receive their journals 3 or 4 times a year. They also publish the surnames you are researching for you and it can be a good way of finding out more about your family and the time and place they lived in. You can usually find out the address and details of the one you require either through the Internet www.ffhs.org.uk or through your local Archives. Many also have for sale fiche, indexes or transcriptions of various records such as the census and parish registers.

Where to do your research.

Wherever you plan to do your research always ring first with some idea of what you are planning to look at. You may need to book a machine to ensure your journey is not wasted. Most record offices have a personal name index that may lead you to a record or a will of one of your ancestors. Always learn a little about the history of the place that your ancestors lived in by reading the local history books relating to that particular area. Many have been written by local history groups and your ancestors may be mentioned in them. Occupations are another source of interest.

The Sheffield Archives, Shoreham Street, nr. the Midland Station.

Tel: 0114 - 2039395

Among the records held there are -

Census (some also for the surrounding areas of Sheffield)

Parish Records (PR's)

GRO indexes.

Monumental Inscriptions (MI's)

Probate Calendars

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

Computerised Familysearch programme

School Records

Maps

Personal name index.

Militia Records

Solicitors records

Poor Law Records

Apprenticeship Records

Cutlers records

Local Studies Library, Central Library, Surrey St.

Tel: 0114 - 2734753

Census

Newspapers

IGI

Photographs

Picture Sheffield - 'Computerised photo album' of photographs of people and places relating to the Sheffield area.

Maps

Local History Books/Information

Transcriptions of some parish records

Trade/street directories

Electoral registers

Personal name index

Time Machine - a computerised wander through Sheffield both the old and new city centre.

The Mormon Church Family History Centre, Wheel Lane, Grenoside

Tel: 0114 - 2453124 I believe they were under threat of closure due to lack of support - were open Tues, Thurs, Fri 10am - 2pm

This is open for anyone to use and is free of charge relying on voluntary donations. As well as having the census for Sheffield and the surrounding area, they are building up their collections of local Parish Registers and also the 1891 census for the whole country. They also have the IGI and the GRO indexes as well as many other useful records. The Family History Centre is extremely useful if your family come from outside the Sheffield area. They can usually obtain records on loan for you from not just England but from all over the world, so long as they have filmed it, for a small cost of less than £3. These can then be kept and viewed at the centre for a month. Records that are on fiche, because they are so cheap, (around 15p each) are purchased with you bearing this cost and kept at the centre adding to their ever-increasing stock. Quite often they may already have the records you require because someone has previously purchased them perhaps through the Family History Societies that also have records for sale. When visiting do bear in mind that it is staffed entirely by volunteers, not all of them church members, and whilst they are enthusiastic they are not all experts in family history. In other words don't expect them to solve your puzzles for you. A lot of their records are on computer including the Ancestral File. This is a collection of pedigrees that people have submitted but once again be careful. If you think you've found your family on it do check out all the details.

I have also visited many places all over England where my ancestors were hatched, matched and dispatched. It is nice to visit where they lived - it helps to get things into perspective. If you are lucky like I was you may be allowed inside the cottage your ancestor lived in or a huge 9 bedroomed farmhouse and have a cup of tea in the same kitchen they ate in.

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Have done Dave. Just in the process of writing up my family history research - skeletons rattling an' all. Slow process - everytime I think I've got as far as I can I dig up another skeleton. Great fun though.

Lyn

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Have done Dave. Just in the process of writing up my family history research - skeletons rattling an' all. Slow process - everytime I think I've got as far as I can I dig up another skeleton. Great fun though.

Lyn

Thank you Lyn - you will have given inspiration to not only myself but others out there on this subject. lol

Thanks also to Stuart who took the initiative to start this thread, following comments I made on the site. lol

And a big thank you to Sheffield History for being there in the first place!!! he he

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Thank you Lyn - you will have given inspiration to not only myself but others out there on this subject. lol

Thanks also to Stuart who took the initiative to start this thread, following comments I made on the site. lol

And a big thank you to Sheffield History for being there in the first place!!! he he

I think you know us well enough by now suzy to realise that this is all part of the service from the members of Sheffield History.

Any Sheffield History related subject, - just ask and I bet at least one of our members will either have the answer or some clues and information to point you in the right direction.

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I think you know us well enough by now suzy to realise that this is all part of the service from the members of Sheffield History.

Any Sheffield History related subject, - just ask and I bet at least one of our members will either have the answer or some clues and information to point you in the right direction.

Many thanks Dave - I must admit I have been very impressed with the information provided thus far. From a personal point of view, I now need to set aside a block of time to get all my paperwork in order, ready to sign up for a free 14 day trial. After that, I am sure I will need help along the way. :rolleyes:

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Guest catey1484

This is a great thread everyone, very helpful! lol

I've got a bit of advice about Ancestry searches, because I had the same problem as you Dave. After a bit of trial and error I realised that the problem happens if you search for Sheffield as the location. Our Sheffield doesn't seem to be in ancestry's database of places, for example when you start typing the location ancestry gives you a list of places to choose from, and when you put Sheffield you get a choice of loads of Sheffields in the US, Jamaica, NZ, etc but not the British one. (Even though I use ancestry.co.uk not .com)

So you'll get much more relevant search results if you search for Yorkshire, which ancestry does recognise. When you start typing yorkshire in the location box you should get the option to choose Yorkshire County, England, United Kingdom. You should get much better results that way!

It's a bit annoying because then you get results from other places in Yorks, but you should be able to find your Sheffielders. I have the same problem when searching for Nottingham too, have to search for Notts. It's funny that they don't include two of the main cities in the UK when they seem to have all the obscure little villages my ancesters ever came from! :rolleyes:

I think I'll email ancestry UK and ask them to add Sheffield and Nottingham to their database.

Oh, and anyone going for the 14 day free trials, don't forget to cancel before the 14 days are up and they take your first subscription fee, like I did! :blink:he he

Hope that helps lol

Cate

Have I been doing something when going onto Ancestry then? and is that why I have so many problems with it.

You quote the site as being ancestry.com

I have always used ancestry.co.uk

As all my ancestory are British for as far back as records go, and none of them of any importance emigrated to the USA this seemed a sensible thing to do.

ancestry.com seems to give hundreds of matches to American people with the same name that you searched for but noticably any or not very many British ones.

Would I have more luck with my searches if I used the .com version rather than the .co.uk ?

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This is a great thread everyone, very helpful! lol

I've got a bit of advice about Ancestry searches, because I had the same problem as you Dave. After a bit of trial and error I realised that the problem happens if you search for Sheffield as the location. Our Sheffield doesn't seem to be in ancestry's database of places, for example when you start typing the location ancestry gives you a list of places to choose from, and when you put Sheffield you get a choice of loads of Sheffields in the US, Jamaica, NZ, etc but not the British one. (Even though I use ancestry.co.uk not .com)

So you'll get much more relevant search results if you search for Yorkshire, which ancestry does recognise. When you start typing yorkshire in the location box you should get the option to choose Yorkshire County, England, United Kingdom. You should get much better results that way!

It's a bit annoying because then you get results from other places in Yorks, but you should be able to find your Sheffielders. I have the same problem when searching for Nottingham too, have to search for Notts. It's funny that they don't include two of the main cities in the UK when they seem to have all the obscure little villages my ancesters ever came from! :rolleyes:

I think I'll email ancestry UK and ask them to add Sheffield and Nottingham to their database.

Oh, and anyone going for the 14 day free trials, don't forget to cancel before the 14 days are up and they take your first subscription fee, like I did! :blink:he he

Hope that helps lol

Cate

Thanks for that advice Cate and welcome to Sheffield History.

I will definately give your search tip a try on Ancestry to see if I have more success than I got previously.

I have done this type of searching before on the LDS IGI section but most other site searches don't make it obvious that you can do this.

I also have a problem with a branch of my family which come from the Whitwell and Alfreton areas which are close to the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire borders.

Although strictly in Derbyshire they sometimes appear in Nottinghamshire records so I have found it better to search by county so as not to miss any of them.

As they have fairly uncommon surnames (Kitts and Oadley) searching a whole county isn't such a problem.

Looks like I will be giving Ancestry another try out before much longer lol

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Thanks for that advice Cate and welcome to Sheffield History.

I will definately give your search tip a try on Ancestry to see if I have more success than I got previously.

I have done this type of searching before on the LDS IGI section but most other site searches don't make it obvious that you can do this.

I also have a problem with a branch of my family which come from the Whitwell and Alfreton areas which are close to the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire borders.

Although strictly in Derbyshire they sometimes appear in Nottinghamshire records so I have found it better to search by county so as not to miss any of them.

As they have fairly uncommon surnames (Kitts and Oadley) searching a whole county isn't such a problem.

Looks like I will be giving Ancestry another try out before much longer lol

I have experienced problems with the "lack of Sheffield" option, I think that is with the new search facility on Ancestry.com I use the .co.uk site

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/Default.aspx

This does not rely on drop down choices as much.

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Thanks for that advice Cate and welcome to Sheffield History.

I will definately give your search tip a try on Ancestry to see if I have more success than I got previously.

I have done this type of searching before on the LDS IGI section but most other site searches don't make it obvious that you can do this.

I also have a problem with a branch of my family which come from the Whitwell and Alfreton areas which are close to the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire borders.

Although strictly in Derbyshire they sometimes appear in Nottinghamshire records so I have found it better to search by county so as not to miss any of them.

As they have fairly uncommon surnames (Kitts and Oadley) searching a whole county isn't such a problem.

Looks like I will be giving Ancestry another try out before much longer lol

One site I can thoroughly recommend for Derbyshire research is http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sp...erday/index.htm

I have found wills, settlement certificates, bastardy bonds and a 'bounder in the family' through this. Mike who runs it will obtain the record for you - say a will - for approximately £5 amd post on to you sometimes along with a transciption typed up.

Don't forget too finding the local family history society for the area who often have online information available in the area you are searching in or who transcribe and put to CD for sale via their sites. http://www.ffhs.org.uk/ to find the relevant society you need.

Also often these also publish 'Members Interests' online so you can get in touch with others researching the same name in the same area.

One problem with Ancestry when searching their public member tree section is that often whoever puts their tree online hasn't looked at the original sources - they have simply taken from other peoples trees or built one via the IGI. If you put your tree online for others to view anyone can 'steal' anything they want and add it to theirs. I keep mine private. I'm not being mean as I will willing give to a proven descendant anything I have on the family but I draw the line when they put on their 'grandmother's, sister's husband's, brother's wife's family' on too for example and they have no real link at all with my family.

I recently contacted someone who seemed to link to me but something was not quite right - this was the reply I got -

i am not a direst decendent of frank roger but! he is in my tree, will try and tell you how..My grandfather arthur morton had a sister francis morton who married a william h eyre whos father was ernest e eyre, whos father was thomas w eyre, whos father was william eyre 1808-1875 who married a ann rodger 1812-1894.ann rodger father was charles rodger 1786 who had a brother frand,,phew that is how i am conected, hope it is clear enough

I wouldn't mind but there were several glaring errors such as having the wrong children to the wrong set of parents. Anyone taking information from this tree would not have had a correct line of descendancy

Another one who had my great grandfather on his tree sent me this reply -

is on the very periphery of my tree, so far so, that I cannot claim direct relationship, but along the way is related to a relative of a relative etc. I am sure you get involved to such limits that as I do keep going on.

My reply would be - sorry but I don't; what is the point if it isn't my family?

Please excuse my rant but I get so mad.

Lyn

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One site I can thoroughly recommend for Derbyshire research is http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sp...erday/index.htm

I have found wills, settlement certificates, bastardy bonds and a 'bounder in the family' through this. Mike who runs it will obtain the record for you - say a will - for approximately £5 amd post on to you sometimes along with a transciption typed up.

Lyn

Thanks Lyn,

That link to Derbyshire research is one I have not come across before and having just had a quick glance it looks very interesting.

Although I have not found any relatives yet I will be back to study it in more detail.

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One problem with Ancestry when searching their public member tree section is that often whoever puts their tree online hasn't looked at the original sources - they have simply taken from other peoples trees or built one via the IGI. If you put your tree online for others to view anyone can 'steal' anything they want and add it to theirs. I keep mine private. I'm not being mean as I will willing give to a proven descendant anything I have on the family but I draw the line when they put on their 'grandmother's, sister's husband's, brother's wife's family' on too for example and they have no real link at all with my family.

My reply would be - sorry but I don't; what is the point if it isn't my family?

Please excuse my rant but I get so mad.

Lyn

Thank you Lyn for all the useful advice and I for one think your rant is fully justified - cheeky beggars!

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Guest smary

One site I can thoroughly recommend for Derbyshire research is http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sp...erday/index.htm

I have found wills, settlement certificates, bastardy bonds and a 'bounder in the family' through this. Mike who runs it will obtain the record for you - say a will - for approximately £5 amd post on to you sometimes along with a transciption typed up.

Don't forget too finding the local family history society for the area who often have online information available in the area you are searching in or who transcribe and put to CD for sale via their sites. http://www.ffhs.org.uk/ to find the relevant society you need.

Also often these also publish 'Members Interests' online so you can get in touch with others researching the same name in the same area.

One problem with Ancestry when searching their public member tree section is that often whoever puts their tree online hasn't looked at the original sources - they have simply taken from other peoples trees or built one via the IGI. If you put your tree online for others to view anyone can 'steal' anything they want and add it to theirs. I keep mine private. I'm not being mean as I will willing give to a proven descendant anything I have on the family but I draw the line when they put on their 'grandmother's, sister's husband's, brother's wife's family' on too for example and they have no real link at all with my family.

I recently contacted someone who seemed to link to me but something was not quite right - this was the reply I got -

i am not a direst decendent of frank roger but! he is in my tree, will try and tell you how..My grandfather arthur morton had a sister francis morton who married a william h eyre whos father was ernest e eyre, whos father was thomas w eyre, whos father was william eyre 1808-1875 who married a ann rodger 1812-1894.ann rodger father was charles rodger 1786 who had a brother frand,,phew that is how i am conected, hope it is clear enough

I wouldn't mind but there were several glaring errors such as having the wrong children to the wrong set of parents. Anyone taking information from this tree would not have had a correct line of descendancy

Another one who had my great grandfather on his tree sent me this reply -

is on the very periphery of my tree, so far so, that I cannot claim direct relationship, but along the way is related to a relative of a relative etc. I am sure you get involved to such limits that as I do keep going on.

My reply would be - sorry but I don't; what is the point if it isn't my family?

Please excuse my rant but I get so mad.

Lyn

Hi, this is my first post - a bit late in finding this site . I have to agree with Lyn1 about the incorrect information on the public trees - I think its a case of people just wanting as many people as they can on their trees. I have found such claring errors - children born before their parents. I usually try to tactfully tell them need to do more research and thank goodness I haven't had any abuse as yet. I do like to have information about people that are indirectly connected to my line but I check and double check the information before I commit them to my tree.

I would also say do not give up - I recently decided to return to a gggreat grandmother who I could find nothing about and low and behold someone on the public trees had her in their tree. She had a gggreat grandfather who was my ggreat grandmothers brother and its opened up a whole new line. She actually had a letter written to her gggreat grandfather in Canada from my gggreat grandmother in 1853 - amazingly this person's family have saved loads of stuff - it was a very emotional moment when the scanned letter arrived. Smary

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Guest wayneybabes

Suzy has asked me to see if there is any way one can find out where and how someone died?. Due to her being in Sheffield she has no access to the internet

she has been told there is no way she can find out this information and any info you have would be much appreciated

please PM Suzy with any info

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Guest wayneybabes

Suzy has asked me to see if there is any way one can find out where and how someone died?. Due to her being in Sheffield she has no access to the internet

she has been told there is no way she can find out this information and any info you have would be much appreciated

please PM Suzy with any info

she has given me a name if anyone can help

Frances May Parkin

she lived on Lambert Street

UD (dont know what this stands for)

any help would be very much appreciated as this is for our family tree that Suzy is compiling

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Thank you

Can I please bring my query to the forefront again, as I have not had any response to-date. We have a deceased relative in our family who we all lost contact with. We dont know her married surname when she died and I am told because of this there is no way of tracing her. I dont want to give up, so any help anyone can give in the form of general advice or a pm to me would be very much appreciated. Many thanks in anticipation.

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Guest binsted71

Can I please bring my query to the forefront again, as I have not had any response to-date. We have a deceased relative (presumed because of her age) in our family, her birth details being as follows:-

Frances May Parkin

D.O.B. "deleted"

her birth address was:

"Deleted"

UD

She lost all contact with family and we believe she died somewhere in the Darnall area. Unfortunately we dont know her married surname when she died and I am told because of this there is no way of tracing her. I dont want to give up, so any help anyone can give in the form of general advice or a pm to me if its about Frances specifically would be very much appreciated. Many thanks in anticipation.

Hi Suzy,

There was a Frances M. PARKIN who married a Thomas HITCHEN in the September quarter of 1928 in Sheffield. Ref. 9c 1275. If this is the correct Frances Parkin then a copy of this marriage certificate would give you more info to work on.

Best wishes and good hunting,

Binsted 71

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