Genealogy Chat

Last week we knocked down a 30 year old brickwall. I started researching when I was young (looking on and off for the past 30 years); I could never find proof of my ancestor's birth. I only had overwhelming coincidences between a family in Essex and my ancestor's family.

Last week I decided to ask for information about my ggfather's sister. It's a long story, but GR members were able to find information while the families were in Canada and then found information of the English families.

It was this information that finally solved my 30 year old mystery. If I hadn't researched a sibling, I would still be wondering about the connection to Essex. Sorry to have rattled on, but if others have not researched family members, it might be worth a try. Thank you again to those who helped me with the information last week, and for the help I am still receiving!!

Well done Lisa J

This is great.

It's often a really good way to get around a puzzle.

I broke down a brickwall a couple of years ago doing something similar. Going sideways, then down and across on my tree finally solved a mystery.

Sue
x

Hi Lisa,
I had to do the same thing to find my g grandfather. He was Sidney on my grans birth certificate, Sidney on the 1901 census and on his death certificate - I even found his grave, where he was buried with the name Sidney, with his wife and in-laws - but I couldn't find him or his family on the 1891 census or his birth!!
Sooooo I tried researching his sister, Beatrice who I knew brought up my gran. (gran's mum died soon after her birth)
Found her on the 1891 census with right parents and 4 brothers - but no Sidney. There was one, however same age, place of birth etc - called Gifford.
Took a chance and got the certificate. It was Sidney!! Checked the brothers - they'd all changed their original, unusual names on the 1891 census, for more comon names in their teens - hence the change on the 1901 census!!
It didn't take me 30 years to find him - just 4 very frustrating years.

maggie

I did a similar thing. Finding great-great grandad Wallace Siggs' baptism, I couldn't help but search to see if there were any other ones in the same parish. There was his sister and also a Rose Hayr Siggs. I kept coming up with these Hayr Siggs and couldn't work it out at all.

So I noted them down and then in passing, a contact on here mentioned that Wallace's dad John was the son of another John. Turned out all these "stray" ones (including Rose) were the young John's half-siblings! His stepmother was a Hayr.

I also was intrigued because they were a rogue line of Siggs living outside the traditional areas for that surname (Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, Sussex) but what helped to tie in this "stray" lot as being mine was that most of the men were gamekeepers. Sometimes it's the most insignificant looking things that help.

One other thing I though of - the number of times I have found the sisters of male relatives by chasing up the brothers is countless. Often the young brothers are lodging with their married sisters (especially if the parents have already died).

Sue, Maggie, Kate, after reading your stories, I will now try researching my other brickwall ancestor again. Thank you for posting your stories - I'll keep your stories in mind when looking for my Ovens ancestor.

Congratulations on your finds, too!

Well done Lisa!!! it seems there are so many of us with brick walls, that your news gives us ALL hope. 30 years is a very long time........hope it dosn`t take me that long...only been doing this 5 years the thought of another 25 is mind boggling. Thanks for sharing your news.


Nicky

Hi Lisa, me too.

My Grandad was James Anderson from Scotland, that was all I knew. Then I started exchanging emails with another GR member who it turned out lived very close to my old Aunt in Nottingham, which put her back into my mind. Eventually it clicked, I traced her record first, which gave me his parents, then I found the whole family in Scotland on the 1901 census so now I'm away.

It was such an obvious thing to do, even now I think I was stupid not thinking of it a long time before.

Duncan

My research for missing ancestors led me across the Atlantic and back.

To cut a long story short........I knew mine were living in a couple of villages in West Somerset but couldn't find them earlier. I then found the will of my 3x great grandfather's brother. That mentioned a sister "now living in America".
I found her family entering Ellis Island in New York, then found a Newark directory of her husband ( a shoemaker). A kind online researcher found the family on a US census. Finding out her children's names and knowing they were born in Somerset, sent me off hunting for their baptisms.

I found this family before they emigrated and discovered that my ancestral aunt was from a village on the other side of Somerset. I then discovered her baptism and the rest of her family miles away from where I'd been looking for years!!!

That then led to another will of an earlier ancestral uncle and I discovered that he left money to certain nephews and nieces. That then explained how they bought farms and moved across the county.

Sounds quick when you say it but I'd spent hundreds of hours trying to find them in parish records in the wrong places.

Next time someone on GR says "why does anyone research linking families?" I hope they read this!

Sue
x

I always try and check siblings - even if it's just roughing out where they were living and who they "probably" married. I find it helps as well to keep track of what jobs the sons all did - and where they moved to.

The number of times I've found an elderly parent or parent-in-law living with a family - or the person I'm looking for living next door!

One in particular was a real bonus as found gr gr grandmother - living with my gr grandfather's sister and her family. So, without knowing the sister's married name I would never have found the mother - particularly as on the index her surname was completely mistranscribed and she was shown as head of house - no chance of finding her that way at all. It was clear from the original image that she was mother-in-law and living in the same house!

Hi Nicky: It's only been the past 5 years that my research has been continuous. (Didn't have a computer before that.) Research was slow decades ago, as all correspondence was by postal mail. I stopped and started through the years, so I definitely haven't been searching for the entire time. :) Best of luck with your searching.

Duncan, Sue and Jill: Once again your stories are giving me hope that I might find more of my family if I check out the siblings.

I've not researched siblings too much in the past, as I live in the States, I'm originally from Canada, and my ancestors (prior to 1870) were from England and Ireland. It's difficult enough looking for direct ancestors when you don't live in the same country, I didn't want to "waste the time" looking for siblings. After reading your stories, I've changed my mind and will start to look. I've had an enjoyable time reading your stories. :)

Not as exciting as all your stories but it interested me. There has been an old rumor on my mother's side of the family that some of our relatives were well to do, unlikely I thought given the rellies I am directly descended from worked in foundries and factories. Before reading this thread I was passing the time by searching my first ancestor's (the first one I have found that is) children other than the one I am directly related to. I found my gg grandfather's brother and his children in the 1871, 81 91 and 1901 census. One of the children Walter, progressed from being a 14 year old office boy in 1881 census to mechanical draftsman in the 1891 census then in 1901 he is an employer mechanical engineering. In the 1891 census the family moved to a better part of the town then in 1901 they are in a much better part of town, their neighbours being surgeons and school teachers. Not exactly the well to do of family legend but still.

There is another rumor that there is a branch of my mother's family that did well and owned a hotel and other property in another county, so I will be investigating further.

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