Dont be lead astray by your records/certs etc.

[dollylee]

Your research could turn into a blessing for someone else if you were to state the full name of one of the people who are in these "wrong" lines.

There are many people who though researching through other records will often also do a google search which could direct them here.  I am sure you would feel really good being able to provide this information to the right family.

dollylee

[silvery]

Yes, good idea Dollylee 

[mariahswind]

I just decided to have a look for registration of my gr-grandmother's birth. I had looked under her maiden name and couldn't find anything earlier. Then it dawned on me that she was born before her parents were married by about 1 yr and 4 mos. I found someone matching her first and middle name with a muddled transcription of her mother's maiden name, in the right qtr for the year, according to the birthdate I have for her. Have had the cert sent for just to confirm. But this means that who I have had as her father for years is not her biological father, and I just completed quite a bit of research on his family! Not to worry... I don't mind having extra lineages hanging around my tree.... Since he was her 'adopted' father and I doubt I will ever learn who her biological father was since this was well over 120 yrs ago! Anyone who might know is long gone. She had banns out with a fellow about a month before she would have fallen pregnant, but no marriage is found and I find him married to someone else by the next census. Maybe by some miracle the father will be mentioned on the birth cert.

[AnneMc]

I too ended up with the wrong William Myers but all was not lost as it turned out it was his cousin..

They were both born in the same village and the same year. It was not till I got my william's marriage that one day I noticed that his father's name was not Francis but George.  So was not a total waste of time.

Anne

[Romilly]

Your research could turn into a blessing for someone else if you were to state the full name of one of the people who are in these "wrong" lines.
There are many people who though researching through other records will often also do a google search which could direct them here.  I am sure you would feel really good being able to provide this information to the right family.
dollylee

OK...I have lots of info, Certs etc on William James Wilson born in Ulverston, Lancs. in 1860. The family lived in Kirkby Ireleth, Lancs. If anyone else is looking at this family, feel free to contact me on here & I will pass it on.

Romilly.

[stoney]

....bear in mind, also, that census enumerators wrote down what they "heard" and what they were "told" ! 

I spent ages trying to track down family members based on what I found in the census' - turns out the "head" of the family had concealed/invented dates and places of birth!

Also BMD certificates are liable to the same "mistakes" - the registrar (certainly in my parents' case) was happy to write the information he'd been given (erroneous, as it now turns out) on their marriage certificate! 

[LoneyBones]

I think lots of us have a similar story...
I got my grandmother's birth cert. parents; George & Emma.
Found George's birth 22 years earlier, followed the line back 5 generations, fantastic.
Found his marriage, to Emmily.... close enough.
Followed Emily's line back, managed 4 generations.
Then I found a whole swag of siblings for my grandmother, including her eldest brother George, born 22 years before she was. You see what I did, I assumed.
But it turned out OK, a couple of years ago I found some cousins who were descended from George who was my G.G Uncle, not my G Grandfather, so I was able to give them all my research.
It was a valuable lesson.