I have had good luck by entering in the search boxes only the given name (no last name), or no given name only a last name, an approximate age, plus sometimes the birth parish or just the birth county, and the suspected parish, or county for the census location. Trolling through the results, I have usually found the person (with a badly scrambled indexed name). Of course, a less common name and/or a smaller parish helps! On FreeBMD, also try just the first name, the time period between two censuses, the county, and look for a recognizable surname. On the early census indexes that were available online, I had found a "cousin" on a prison ship. Later, I tried to find him again on Ancestry.com indexes - no luck, even on searching just on first name "William." I went through the entire prison ship census, and found him, as "Wm." and a scrambled indexed last name, so do try any possible abbreviations of given names. Though I found one, first name Charles, who was clearly written as "Charlish" in the passenger list, along with a misspelling of his last name (I wondered, did he lisp or was he drunk??), found only by the information that his nephew was on the same ship - I found the nephew and then searched the whole passenger list. Ruth USA From: KIM QUILTS Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 9:13 AM To: norfolk@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NFK] INVISIBLE ANCESTORS (adding my SADD as I reply) I would be very interested in knowing how you located the Northcott, aka, Morthcost. What a difference. I am always looking for ideas to track my GG grandfather John Sadd, lived in Norwich, and I presume died there between 1841 and 1851. I have tried all sorts of name variations, checked all the usual records... Always looking for another idea to try. I have all his family on the census from 1841, where he is also, then he is gone, while the census records continue for the rest of the family. Also, following 1841 there are no other children born, and the family was in the workhouse, 2 other reasons to think he was dead. His death is a mystery, I have done GRO searches and at the NRO, nothing. Perhaps the death was not registered or he died unidentified, or a number of other possibilities. To make the situation more challenging, he was married at St Michael at Thorn, that church and most of the records were destroyed in the 2nd world war. Any new search ideas gratefully accepted. I have not listed all I have done, just in case someone has a new or differently stated idea, giving rise to a new thought process for me in the search. Thanks and Merry Christmas Kim ----- Original Message ----- From: elizabeth howard <elizgh@btinternet.com> Date: Friday, December 23, 2011 7:13 am Subject: [NFK] INVISIBLE ANCESTORS To: norfolk@rootsweb.com > Hi, sometimes an ancestor is simply lurking under a hideously > mis interpreted name . Northcott on the Devon list entered > into the 1861 > census ( ancestry) as Morthcost ........never in a million > years would I > have thought to look at that !!!! and then there is > the abbreviation , Mr > Northcott was Wm in ancestry`s index, so being case > sensitive the name > William was all the index looked for ....... perhaps Eliz > , Elizth , and a > variation of Blake may help , Black , or just an * in the place > of the k ?? > Or for both Tennant and Blake , maybe the freecen site and the > freereg site may help ? > > > > life is hard . soften it with a cat \\\=^..^=/// > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "David and Janet Tennant" <d_jtennant@sympatico.ca> > To: <norfolk@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 1:45 PM > Subject: Re: [NFK] Elizabeth Blake died 1846 > > > > Somewhere in the past I have come across a reference to a > website where > > unwanted certificates can be posted. I think this is the URL: > > www.*certificate*-exchange.co.*uk*/ > > > > Re your problem., I think that many of us have relatives who > appear to > > have been abducted by aliens! I have spent most of the past 2 weeks > > looking for a trace of a relative of mine, a Charles Tennant, > of whom > > there seems to be absolutely no trace after his appearance on > the 1861 > > census at Starston. No apparent BMD entries so did he too > emigrate? I'll > > likely never know. > > Dave > > On 12/23/2011 7:35 AM, Jane Kelly wrote: > >> > >> Does anyone know of a suitable place to put wrong > certificates or perhaps > >> this is the right one for someone else? > >> > >> Best wishes, > >> > >> Jane > >> > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORFOLK- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Thanks. I will check my research log to see if I have searched for Jno instead of John. If I haven't I will shortly. As a side note: I keep track of these ideas and share them when I help others with their family history, as I am sure you all do also. The pebble of information spreads wide. Kim ----- Original Message ----- From: Ruth Dunlap <rdunlap@tsf.net> Date: Friday, December 23, 2011 11:45 am Subject: [NFK] Census searches (was Re:  INVISIBLE ANCESTORS -SADD) To: norfolk@rootsweb.com > I have had good luck by entering in the search boxes only the > given name (no last name), or no given name only a last name, an > approximate age,  plus sometimes the birth parish or just > the birth county, and the suspected parish, or county for the > census location.  Trolling through the results, I have > usually found the person (with a badly scrambled indexed > name).  Of course, a less common name and/or a smaller > parish helps!  On FreeBMD, also try just the first name, > the time period between two censuses, the county, and look for a > recognizable surname. > > On the early census indexes that were available online, I had > found a "cousin" on a prison ship.  Later, I tried to find > him again on Ancestry.com indexes - no luck, even on searching > just on first name "William."  I went through the entire > prison ship census, and found him, as "Wm." and a scrambled > indexed last name, so do try any possible abbreviations of given > names.  Though I found one, first name Charles, who was > clearly written as "Charlish"   in the passenger list, > along with a misspelling of his last name (I wondered, did he > lisp or was he drunk??), found only by the information that his > nephew was on the same ship - I found the nephew and then > searched the whole passenger list. > Ruth > USA  > > > From: KIM QUILTS > Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 9:13 AM > To: norfolk@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [NFK] INVISIBLE ANCESTORS (adding my SADD as I reply) > > > > I would be very interested in knowing how you located the > Northcott, aka, Morthcost. What a difference. > > I am always looking for ideas to track my GG grandfather John > Sadd, lived in Norwich, and I presume died there between 1841 > and 1851. I have tried all sorts of name variations, checked all > the usual records... Always looking for another idea to try. I > have all his family on the census from 1841, where he is also, > then he is gone, while the census records continue for the rest > of the family. Also, following 1841 there are no other children > born, and the family was in the workhouse, 2 other reasons to > think he was dead. > > His death is a mystery, I have done GRO searches and at the NRO, > nothing. Perhaps the death was not registered or he died > unidentified, or a number of other possibilities. > To make the situation more challenging, he was married at St > Michael at Thorn, that church and most of the records were > destroyed in the 2nd world war. > > Any new search ideas gratefully accepted. I have not listed all > I have done, just in case someone has a new or differently > stated idea, giving rise to a new thought process for me in the > search. > > Thanks and Merry Christmas > Kim > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: elizabeth howard <elizgh@btinternet.com> > Date: Friday, December 23, 2011 7:13 am > Subject: [NFK] INVISIBLE ANCESTORS > To: norfolk@rootsweb.com > > >             Hi,   sometimes an ancestor is simply lurking under a hideously > > mis interpreted name .  Northcott on the Devon list > entered > > into the 1861 > > census  ( ancestry) as Morthcost ........never in a > million > > years would I > > have thought to look at that !!!!   and then there > is > > the abbreviation , Mr > > Northcott was Wm in ancestry`s index,  so being case > > sensitive the name > > William was all the index looked for .......  perhaps > Eliz > > , Elizth , and a > > variation of Blake may help , Black , or just an * in the > place > > of the k ?? > >             Or for both Tennant and Blake , maybe the freecen site and the > > freereg site may help ? > > > > > > > > life is hard . soften it with a cat \\\=^..^=/// > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "David and Janet Tennant" <d_jtennant@sympatico.ca> > > To: <norfolk@rootsweb.com> > > Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 1:45 PM > > Subject: Re: [NFK] Elizabeth Blake died 1846 > > > > > > > Somewhere in the past I have come across a reference to a > > website where > > > unwanted certificates can be posted. I think this is the URL: > > > www.*certificate*-exchange.co.*uk*/ > > > > > > Re your problem., I think that many of us have relatives who > > appear to > > > have been abducted by aliens! I have spent most of the past > 2 weeks > > > looking for a trace of a relative of mine, a Charles > Tennant, > > of whom > > > there seems to be absolutely no trace after his appearance > on > > the 1861 > > > census at Starston. No apparent BMD entries so did he too > > emigrate? I'll > > > likely never know. > > > Dave > > > On 12/23/2011 7:35 AM, Jane Kelly wrote: > > >> > > >> Does anyone know of a suitable place to put wrong > > certificates or perhaps > > >> this is the right one for someone else? > > >> > > >> Best wishes, > > >> > > >> Jane > > >> > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > > without the > > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > >  > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORFOLK- > > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > >   > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORFOLK- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >