Bob, LOL, that's great. Yep, I try to disturb the dead I guess and I definitely annoy the living (mainly my wife); but it's great fun (when it's not frustrating). Sometimes I think the brains in my family skipped a generation. Michael Wright 801-773-7680 (H) 801-390-0960 (C) > From: efr54321@gmail.com > Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 19:07:22 -0500 > To: staffordshire@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [STAFFORDSHIRE] Finding Descendants > > OK!! So it worked differently for me. Probably unusual - but it worked. > > A GGM left a letter documenting what she know of the oral history passed to her. I followed it back as everyone has suggested and ...... nothing! Oh, I was perfect to 1820 and then a big brick wall. So I. Started again where she had ended and it turned out to be history from a century earlier. With that clue, I worked up rather than down. Let me share that it much harder going up than it is going down. Too many options! But it worked! After a long search, I found that the oral history skipped a generation. I may have gotten there in the usual way but ...... > > Try anything! After all, genealogy is the process of disturbing the dead and irritating the living! > > Bob > > > > On Mar 1, 2012, at 11:04 AM, Michael Wright <rahmuss@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > ****************************** > ATTENTION TO ALL:- When replying please remove the details that do not apply to your mail and change the SUBJECT LINE for best useage of ARCHIVED MATERIALS. > ------------------------------- > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to STAFFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Michael 1) There was no reason to remember ages in those days. Only when pensions started was there a need to know how old one was for legal reasons, and in the early days of civil registration many children were not registered even though it was in fact a requirement to do so. Even Baptisms can not always be trusted to give an accurate year of birth as many children were baptised later in life. My g grandfather was baptised when he was 8 years old, and his brother was baptised the same day when he was 6. Luckily the Vicar entered their birth date on the baptism entry. 2) Many people were illiterate and the census enumerator asked questions, wrote down the answers and then filled in the forms when he returned home that night, so mistakes were frequently made. The people would not have known what he was writing down if they could not read or write. 3) Beware of 'word of mouth' stories too! My own father always told me that I was born 'overlooking Wimbledon Common'. I found out when I eventually needed a birth certificate and looked up the given address of my birth that the only thing it overlooked was the Wimbledon Railway Station! I have a letter written by a gr Aunt in which she related the story about the tragic death of my ggg grandmother, but almost every fact was proved wrong when I purchased the death certificate, including the fact that she said it happened when my ggg grandmother was waiting for her husband to come home from work on New Year's Eve, and she was all dressed up in a crinoline for their family celebration. The event (she and her baby of 7 mths were burnt to death when her dress and the baby's crib caught alight following a log falling from the fire) happened in early December! On 2 March 2012 16:36, Michael Wright <rahmuss@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Bob, > LOL, that's great. Yep, I try to disturb the dead I guess and I > definitely annoy the living (mainly my wife); but it's great fun (when it's > not frustrating). Sometimes I think the brains in my family skipped a > generation. > > Michael Wright > 801-773-7680 (H) > 801-390-0960 (C) > > > > From: efr54321@gmail.com > > Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 19:07:22 -0500 > > To: staffordshire@rootsweb.com > > Subject: Re: [STAFFORDSHIRE] Finding Descendants > > > > OK!! So it worked differently for me. Probably unusual - but it worked. > > > > A GGM left a letter documenting what she know of the oral history passed > to her. I followed it back as everyone has suggested and ...... nothing! > Oh, I was perfect to 1820 and then a big brick wall. So I. Started again > where she had ended and it turned out to be history from a century earlier. > With that clue, I worked up rather than down. Let me share that it much > harder going up than it is going down. Too many options! But it worked! > After a long search, I found that the oral history skipped a generation. I > may have gotten there in the usual way but ...... > > > > Try anything! After all, genealogy is the process of disturbing the dead > and irritating the living! > > > > Bob > > > > > > > > On Mar 1, 2012, at 11:04 AM, Michael Wright <rahmuss@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > ****************************** > > ATTENTION TO ALL:- When replying please remove the details that do not > apply to your mail and change the SUBJECT LINE for best useage of ARCHIVED > MATERIALS. > > ------------------------------- > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > STAFFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ****************************** > ATTENTION TO ALL:- When replying please remove the details that do not > apply to your mail and change the SUBJECT LINE for best useage of ARCHIVED > MATERIALS. > ------------------------------- > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > STAFFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >