I am relatively new to this and would appreciate any help or advice on offer! I am tracing the surname Meffen (my maternal grandmother's maiden name) and after finding the general stuff dating back to early 1800s, my research literally leap-frogged me back to Henry Steward as Lord Methven etc. I understand the issue of ambiguity in regard to spelling and translation, but Meffen is not that common ... is it? How can I link up with a possible 'relative' who has done more research than I or is it a case of me slowly tracing back my line to see if there is a link? I'm thoroughly enjoying this project so I am not looking for the work to be handed to me on a plate as it were, but I just don't know where to start.
You really need to track your family back one step at a time. If you are needing help going backwards then start a new post giving information on the family you are trying to research in the 1800's
Hello
You need to start with your actual relative known to you or your family personally that you wish to trace backward from, being your Maternal Grandmother, so you will need to work backward from her Marriage Certificate. The best way is to apply for their Death Certificate, Marriage Certificate and Birth Certificates in reverse order obviously, as you are working backward.
Ask your related family members, including those you may never have seen, who might know of them, what they recall about your family, but back this up with Certificates & Wills (Wills if they left one) & other documents, as you work backward.
When you get back to 1911 (the most recent Census available in England & Wales) find them in that and cross reference your Certificates with the Census, held every 10 years, backward.
Free BMD search the England & Wales Births, Marriages & Deaths Indexes September 1837 to 1983
https://www.freebmd.org.uk/searchTo order England & Wales Certificates & check Mother's Maiden Surname on earlier Births
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/To check if a Will or Administration at Death, or in the years immediately following death (back to 1858) check the Calendars (Indexes) and Order Wills and Admins here ...
https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probateI'm afraid you can't use general information at all and cannot make assumptions, you might find yourself totally on the wrong line and your actual line is more interesting, or you may find you are not linked to any famous family at all.
Don't rely on online trees, some have errors or have made assumptions (without a document and no corroboration to back up the claim) and may not be your precise family line. You must work your own personal line backward yourself.
When you get stuck or uncertain or need a little more help, come back on here and say my Grandmother's line is confirmed back to xxxx and I'm stuck with this.
But you must start, working methodically backward in sequence and it is best obtaining the Certificates of your known relative first, then you have something concrete to work back from, provided there is no illegitimacy and everyone Registered their Birth back to 1837. (Bear in mind there was no Legal requirement to Register a Birth in England & Wales until the 1870s, but most parents did.)
Some Births Registered from 1837 Eng & Wales, also have separate Baptism & Birth records, in Parish Church (C of E), or in Nonconformist Registers (some are online & others in Archives and Record Offices.
All the Best, Mark
