To find out more about researching wills in England have a look at the two guides on the subject listed on this page: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person%5Cdefault.htm Although it's certainly possible to carry out genealogy research without forking out much money, it's not very practical if you're time-poor as well as cash-poor. Online genealogical resources can cost a substantial amount to provide. Alternatively, they depend upon an extraordinarily generous volunteer base who not only have transcription skills, but can also manage volunteers, develop standards, computer programs and web-based services, and fund the infrastructure required for running a popular website. They have transformed the pursuit of family history knowledge from when I first started on this addictive hobby, when everything was in paper or on microfilm. It's still possible to use paper and microfilm, but expect to take an hour or two to find someone in the census rather than a minute. On 2 March 2012 22:31, Marilyn L. Arnold <marilyn.arnold1@verizon.net>wrote: > Michael: > > Ruth just did a lot of wonderful research for you, so it is doable and the > information is out there .... > > She's suggested a number of avenues to try -- it's not about hitting the > lottery. All but one of the sites she proposed are FREE. Basic membership > to genesreunited, I recall it was just abt $30 US/year, and well worth it. > You can use Ancestry at your local library, so .... it's not a huge > investment. W/Genes Reunited, I reconnected w/some 3rd cousins I met in > Dundee (Scotland) 15 years ago, which to me was worth the $30 alone. I > also > found two other researchers on this line and was able to reconnect with > another 3rd cousin in Australia. And yes, a % of message go unanswered, > but > for me it was perhaps 30%, so I had better luck, personally, but that's the > luck of the draw. > > Marilyn > DC > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Michael Wright" <rahmuss@hotmail.com> > To: "Staffordshire RootsWeb" <staffordshire@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 12:03 PM > Subject: Re: [STAFFORDSHIRE] Elizabeth MOSS of Onecote > > > > > > Wow, Ruth, thank you very much for all of the great information. I guess > > having a paid subscription for some sites may be worth the cost. I just > > need to strike it rich and then I won't have to worry about it. Anyone > > have the winning lottery numbers? > > > > Really though, all of that is great information. I guess I can scrub all > > of those Elizabeths with different last names from my list. And I'll > have > > to see about getting information about wills. That gives me an idea too. > > If my Sarah is actually DEAVILLE (or DEVILLE, or one of many other > > spellings), then I know who her father is, and it's possible that he died > > before her (though she died young), and so she may be included in his > > will. How can you tell if a will has been entered? Where would I search > > for a will for her father? > > > > Michael Wright > > 801-773-7680 (H) > > 801-390-0960 (C) > > rahmuss@hotmail.com > > > > > > > >> Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2012 09:50:57 +0000 > >> From: historyscape@gmail.com > >> To: staffordshire@rootsweb.com > >> Subject: [STAFFORDSHIRE] Elizabeth MOSS of Onecote > >> > >> Michael has asked about the MOSS family of Onecote in a couple of other > >> messages. > >> > >> The MOSS family of Onecote are relatively easy to track in the census > >> using > >> the indexes on Ancestry or Findmypast. It is pretty difficult to track > >> people down reliably just using the free search on Familysearch, with > the > >> exception of the 1881 census where a full transcription is available on > >> that site. This is because, as other listers have pointed out, names, > >> birthplaces and ages can be inconsistent - because of illiteracy, > >> changing > >> census dates (1841 was June, others were March or April), different > >> family > >> members giving information to the enumerator etc. It is therefore > >> essential to check out the whole family grouping as that will give you > >> further clues about whether you have a match or not. > >> > >> Elizabeth MOSS appears with her family (her father, George, as head of > >> household until 1871, her brother John from 1881) in Onecote in every > >> census 1841-1891. She is aged 20 in 1841 (all ages over 15 were supposed > >> to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years), 32 in 1851 (born Elkstone as > >> I > >> said in my response to Michael's email titled 'Onecote'), aged 40 in > 1861 > >> (born Elkstone), aged 50 in 1871 (born Onecote), aged 62 in 1881 (born > >> Elkstone), and aged 69 in 1891 (born Elkstone). Despite the differences > >> in > >> ages, this is clearly the same woman each time based on the family > >> grouping > >> and address. She was probably the Elizabeth MOSS, aged 78, whose death > >> was > >> registered in the Leek Registration District in Oct-Dec 1896 ( > >> www.freebmd.org.uk). > >> > >> She remained unmarried as did her brother John and sisters Ann and > Sarah. > >> See https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X3KM-YR1 for the 1881 census. > >> > >> Their father, George Moss of Westbrook Head, Onecote, left a will which > >> was > >> proved on 11 March 1874. A copy of the will might give some more > >> information about some of his direct descendants. This page gives you > the > >> address to write to: > >> http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/copies-of-grants-wills > >> > >> The best source for tracking down living descendants in my experience is > >> www.genesreunited.co.uk, which currently lists three researchers > >> interested > >> in George Moss. However, as you have to be subscribed to reply to > >> messages, I find that only about 20% of messages sent on that site get a > >> reply. > >> > >> Ruth > >> ****************************** > >> 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 > > ****************************** > 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 >