Writing up notes on possible leads.

[coombs]

In Word 2013 I am now writing up notes on possible leads on my family tree. Noting down possible relatives of ancestors such as people of the same surname in the same village, to see if there is a possible connection. Noting down all siblings of possible ancestors so I have them all written down before I add any to my tree. It helps to do this when there are more than one person of the parish with the same name etc.

Creating mini family trees while I investigate further is another phrase to coin.

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi Coombs,

you might also like to see these topics,
Topic: Spreadsheets help track Surnames
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,31779.15.html
and also
Topic: Not realy a tec problem,but about excel
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,199033.0.html

There are some similar ideas to yours, here, but using Excel rather than Word.
I prefer Excel because you then set filters on each column; this is useful for looking at same names, addresses, or any other "same" details.

regards,
Bob

[coombs]

Hi Bob

Thanks for the links. I shall try Excel to map out "mini trees".

[smudwhisk]

I agree with Bob about spreadsheets, I tend to use Excel to write up entries extracted from parish registers, sometimes when trying to confirm if the line is correct, other times to try and work out who is who and not duplicating entries.  If and when I enter them in the tree, I tend to "colour" the line in the spreadsheet to show that the entry has already been used.  Currently doing this for the numerous May family(s) in and around North Nibley in Gloucestershire as it now looks like my John May, a Dyer and Freeman of the Dyers Livery Company in London, came from that area rather than Southwark as I originally had though, albeit I had my doubts but wasn't sure (recently found a freeman record listing his father and birthplace which I don't remember seeing previously).  The Gloucestershire line is now looking more promising but Ancestry's indexing as per normal leaves a lot to be desired so I'm working my way through the registers manually saving copies and adding the details to the spreadsheet.  When I've done a few more parishes I should have a better idea as to whether this is more likely.  Takes a while but worth it.

Creating separate trees in some family history software is another useful way, you can then import them into your main tree if you confirm they are the correct family.  I appreciate that some people use online trees, but if you don't that can be a useful way.

If its just an odd person, I tend to just add a note to the person in the tree software detailing the thought which jogs the memory later if I find something else.

[Josephine]

I do it in Word, too, because I've never liked using Excel-type spreadsheets.

I include transcripts of documents I've purchased and write up my findings to date. At the end, I explain why I am or am not adding them to my database.

I understand the perfectly valid reasons why other people prefer using them. This is not meant as an argument for or against; I've just found this way works well for me.

Regards,
Josephine

[stitchwitch]

I do something similar using the spreadsheet in LibreOffice. I use the fact that you can have several individual sheets in a single workbook and can link items between sheets, sort information by dates, all that jazz. Geeky, moi? Yup and proud of it! You can take the girl out of the IT industry but you'll never completely get the IT out of the girl

[coombs]

I have 2 Elizabeth Suckling's born in Finchingfield. 1 in 1763 to Thos and Jane and one in June 1766 to Francis and Mary. Both had sisters called Susan Suckling. One born 1768 (to Thos and Jane) and one in 1770 (to Francis and Mary). I am writing up notes on any other siblings to see which one of the 2 Elizabeth's is mine.

An Elizabeth Suckling, infant was buried in January 1766. No info on parents. But I would hazard a guess as to her being the one born in 1763. Infant can mean under 1 but I have seen many exceptions. If so, then the one baptised in June 1766 should be mine. I have never come across a 3rd Eliz Suckling baptised 1755-1766 in the parish.

Only 1 Elizabeth Suckling married in Finchingfield years later, that is my ancestor, she wed Samuel Stock in 1791. A Susan Suckling wed in 1793 to Robert Sneesham and Samuel Stock was a witness. Susan Sneesham died in 1815, age given as 47 so born c1768. This means it could be the Susan Suckling born in 1768 but ages at death are not always accurate. This is a classic example of me trying to unravel the knots and writing up notes on Word, and I shall try Excel.

[smudwhisk]

I do something similar using the spreadsheet in LibreOffice. I use the fact that you can have several individual sheets in a single workbook and can link items between sheets, sort information by dates, all that jazz. Geeky, moi? Yup and proud of it! You can take the girl out of the IT industry but you'll never completely get the IT out of the girl

I don't go as far as linking items between spreadsheets but the sort/filter facility is great for working things out.

[coombs]

Since starting this thread I have used both Word and Excel.

I have been plugging away at my Norfolk lines for almost 2 weeks and desperately feel a need to get to Norfolk RO to look at some wills which may hold the key.

For example my ancestor was Susan Riches who wed Henry Helsdon in All Saints, Norwich in 1725. She was single and he was a widower. I have a few possible Susan Riches baptisms to try but one sticks out.

 If my Susan is any of these 3 then in Excel I have added 3 possibles, the 3 most likely and the 3rd one may be eliminated.

Susan Riches, born 1691 daughter of James and Deborah, bap St Peter Mancroft, Norwich.
Susan Riches born 30 April 1694, daughter of Isack and Eliz bap St Michael At Plea, Norwich.
Susan Riches born 1702, daughter of Wm and Ann bap St James Pockthorpe, Norwich.

A Susan Riches wed on the 10 April 1710 in Norwich. Maybe the 1691 one. Possibly.

The 1702 one from Pockthorpe is probably eliminated. A Susan Riches died in 1761 aged 59, marital status not given but for other burials of women in the Pockthorpe register it says "widow" or "married woman".

I have eliminated the one born to Edmund and Susan in 1693 as she died as a baby. Also I seem to have eliminated the one born 1696 in Barney as she may have wed in a nearby parish. And eliminated the one born in Old Buckenham in 1703. A Susan Riches wed in Old Buckenham in the 1720s.

Susan Helsdon (Nee Riches) had her last child Elizabeth in 1739. If born 1694 she'd have been 45 in 1739 and 31 in 1725 when her first child was born. If born 1691 she'd have been 48 in 1739.

Susan Helsdon died in 1762 and no age given on her burial. Her weaver hubby Henry died in 1750 and he left a will but only mentions wife Susan and 3 surviving children.

An Isaac Riches was buried in 1751 in the same area Susan Helsdon had lived in, Timberhill and All Saints, Norwich. The burial record says he was a widower. He is listed in the 1734 directory as a worsted weaver. Although weaving was common in Norwich.

I cannot seem to find any marriage other than to Henry Helsdon that could be the 1694 Susan Riches. Seems she had an uncle Edmund and a cousin Edmund who left a will so these need to be looked at.

All this is written down to try and help me hone in on the right ancestor.