1700-where should I go now?

[Burto]

I have come to a complete stop with one branch, my Elliots, and I need some advice as to where I could try next.
The furthest back I have got is with Joshawa Elliot b. 1705 St Mary's Nottingham to John and Elizabeth Elliot. He also had a sister, Elizabeth b. 1700, to the same parents in the same parish.
This is where I come to a stop. I can't find any marriage records on online for John and Elizabeth. Is there anyway I could work out their ages and parents' names using other records? Would burials help? If so, where could I find out about them?
Any advice would be brilliant.

[Redroger]

The parish registers cover the period from 1566. They will be held at Nottinghamshire archive, there is also a copy at the Society of genealogists in London. Boyd's Marriage index for the parish covers 1651-1812. If your Elliots were not listed in them, then probably they only moved to Nottingham around 1700. There are I believe several sites which give the distribution of surnames, you could try them.

[Burto]

Brilliant! Thanks for that Redroger, didn't realise there was such as thing as a parish index for that time span! My theory is they moved to Nottingham from elsewhere, so hopefully the archives will be able to tell me whether they were around or not!
I have looked into the distribution of the surname and it is most commonly found in Northumberland/Cumbria and the Scottish borders. There are a few John and Elizabeth Elliots up there, but obviously I have no idea which would be mine!
I was wondering if certain names crop up in different families (in my case Joshua) then these families are related?

[Marmaduke 123]

Well, you come to a stop with all of your lines eventually!

In my case it can be as late as the 1790s (too many possibilities), or as early as the early 1500s (no more records).

I still hope to make progress but I'm not sure how!

Anne

[Redroger]

Marmaduke, There are postings on this site about medieval genealogy, just put that into the search box and read the results.Burto, My family moved about frequently, mostly in small villages in south west England. What I usually do is terminate the search in a parish after there have been no entries of any kind; baptisms, marriages or burials for a period of 50 years.

[Marmaduke 123]

Thanks Redroger.

I have dipped my toe into the medieval records for some of my lines. It's more possible with some than others of course, I find you need both a distinctive name and a confined geographical area. I've still got a lot to learn, and am enjoying reading the threads on here.

Anne

[Redroger]

Marmaduke, I am researching my mother's ancestors at the village of Bottisham nr  Cambridge, for which there are many medieval records. So far however, and what I have done is very limited not a word about them.

[willow154]

Hi Burto, 
Sorry, I'm a bit late with this - have you thought about looking at the Settlement Certificate and Examination indexes in the Nottinghamshire Archives. They go back to 1662, and might include your ancestors. If an examination exists there could be lots of useful information (including place of origin):
http://www.rootschat.com/links/06l1/
It might also be worth checking the apprenticeship indexes - some go back to pre 1700. Apprenticeships usually finished when the person reached 21 years of age (some 24ish), so that helps narrow down the year of birth. Some (if you are lucky) give the father's name i.e son of .....
Hope this helps and good luck, Burto.
Paulene

[Burto]

Hi Willow154,
Thank you for your suggestions, will give them a try!