« Reply #12 on: Tuesday 23 May 17 20:33 BST (UK) »
Coombs,
The good thing about excel is when using ages against dates you can do your arithmetic to work out year of birth etc. (no need for a calculator) & give columns names, keeping everything tidy without having to manipulate everything on word to line up.
My own preference of course & great for putting in either alphabetical or numerical order at the click of a button.
Annie
Yes that is one of the advantages of Excel. Saves having to sort it out yourself.
As we all know that as we get back before 1800 the waters tend to get murkier. Info given in records vary greatly before 1813. Sometimes a burial can give age, occupation and even a maiden name for a woman whereas others just given the usual date of burial and name. Witnesses to marriages 1754 onwards often were regular ones and of no use for FH, or seem to be from the side of the traceable spouse getting married. My ancestor Thos Newman wed his first wife in 1816. Thomas died in 1832 in Essex. His first wedding had witnesses from his wife's side and the second seemed to have one from the wife's side and a regular one. Newman is a common name as well.
You may hit paydirt on some lines and be able to get back to the 1500s and on other lines seem to hit a 1790-1800 brickwall that even James Bond would not be able to knock down.
Researching:
LONDON, Coombs, Roberts, Auber, Helsdon, Fradine, Morin, Goodacre
DORSET Coombs, Munday
NORFOLK Helsdon, Riches, Harbord, Budery
KENT Roberts, Goodacre
SUSSEX Walder, Boniface, Dinnage, Standen, Lee, Botten, Wickham, Jupp
SUFFOLK Titshall, Frost, Fairweather, Mayhew, Archer, Eade, Scarfe
DURHAM Stewart, Musgrave, Wilson, Forster
SCOTLAND Stewart in Selkirk
USA Musgrave, Saix
ESSEX Cornwell, Stock, Quilter, Lawrence, Whale, Clift
OXON Edgington, Smith, Inkpen, Snell, Batten, Brain