Machell Surname

[BridgetM]

I'm researching my branch of the MACHELL family, which I've traced back to 1714 in Westmorland.  Since I'm blocked at 1714 I decided to trace all the descendants of all my ancestors--and their descendants (cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.) and their descendants, all the way to the twentieth century (and a few of them to the present day.)  I've found my Machells in Manchester, Preston, and London.  Some (like me) immigrated to the US, some to Canada, and at least one settled in South Africa.  I now have 10 large binders filled with copies of parish records, wills, marriage bonds, BCs, MCs, and DCs—all exclusively devoted to the Machells.  (Luckily, I have quite an unusual surname which makes my research a bit easier—though the name Machell can be spelled surprisingly creatively.)
My question: how can I find others who are researching the Machells?  I would like to fill the gaps in my research, and also share the information I’ve found.
Thanks,
Bridget

[msallen]

You could register your research with the Guild of One Name Studies...
www.one-name.org

That way others could find you. As for you finding others, I'm afraid I can't really recommend anything except trawling genealogy sites such as this for other people mentioning the surname!

[Ruskie]

Bridget,

I have a copy of the Genealogical Research Directory which lists the Machell surname.

There are contact details of two people researching the name.

If you like, I can send their contact details to you via a PM?

Unfortunately my copy is the 2004 version of the book so the names/addresses may no longer be valid.

Let me know if you'd like those contacts. 

[Galium]

You could have a look for Machells among the trees on Worldconnect:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi

Tree owners usually have an email address on there.

[There was a Machell in my class at primary school in Preston.  New teachers always had trouble pronouncing his name]

[JeremyvH]

I've found my Machells in Manchester, Preston, and London.  Some (like me) immigrated to the US, some to Canada, and at least one settled in South Africa.

Hi BridgetM
Read this and saw the South Africa bit, so signed up immediately.

Possibly might have a link to my Grandmother's family.
Hopefully we can both assist one another.

Please can we get in touch.

Thanks and Kind Regards,
Jeremy

[BridgetM]

Hi Jeremy,

Once you've posted three times, we can correspond via PMs.  Since my first posting on this topic, I've sorted my direct line of Machells back to about 1480.  It's taken me almost 6 years, and about 15 weeks in the Kendal Record Office--but I probably know more about the Machells of Kendal than anyone has ever wanted to know!

Bridget

[clayton bradley]

There is also a Surname Society with a facebook page. They let you research names in a limited area so there is a wider coverage of names than you get with the Guild, which tends to have unusual names. claytonbradley

[*Sandra*]

Hi Bridget,

If you scroll to the bottom of any RootsChat page - under tools - you will see surname interests - if you click on that link and do a quick search under "M" you will find a few Machell researchers.
Hope this helps.

http://surname.rootschat.com/sit-surnames.php?letter=M&surname=MACHELL

Sandra

[JeremyvH]

Hi Jeremy,

Once you've posted three times, we can correspond via PMs.  Since my first posting on this topic, I've sorted my direct line of Machells back to about 1480.  It's taken me almost 6 years, and about 15 weeks in the Kendal Record Office--but I probably know more about the Machells of Kendal than anyone has ever wanted to know!

Bridget

Thanks for the tip re: the PM's. This makes 2! lol