When Is It OK to Assume?

[deany70]

Hi There

Im not exactly a Newbie to researching my tree as been at this 10 years now, but its now that Im starting to realise just how little I know as I dig into Parish Records from the 1700s/1800s.

I have hit a bit of a brick wall with my Gx4/5 Grandfather - Richard Dean - a Silk Weaver.  He was married in 1804 to Sarah Ellis in St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets. 

Their children were

• Henry Dean (born in 1806 in Mickleham)
• James Dean (born in 1811 in Mickleham)
• William Dean (born in 1813 in Mickleham, Surrey)
• Joseph Samuel Dean (born in 1815 in Bethnal Green, London)
• Samuel Dean (born in 1818 in Bethnal Green, London)
• Joseph Dean (born in 1822 in St Lukes, Middlesex)
• John Dean (born in 1825 in Bethnal Green, London)

I cannot find a death for Richard and Ive struggled to find the family in 1841.  I do know he was not around in 1851 as his wife Sarah was living in the same building as Joseph, her son. 

Id like to try and find Richard's parents - sadly the witnesses at his wedding were no help and from what I can see of the children of Richard - he didnt keep the Richard name going, but he did keep the Samuel name going.

I have looked at records on the IGI and Ancestry:
There is a Richard born to Samuel and Mary Dean in 1784, in St Leonard's Shoreditch and a Richard Samuel born to Richard Samuel and Jane Dean in 1785, in Bethnal Green.    So not a great help there!  I do know that Richard Samuel Dean died in the 1840s, but his death cert isnt any help either! 

So Im wondering what should my next course of action be please?  Do I need to do some digging in the actual records - if so which parish would I start with. 

Or can I start to make assumptions.  e.g. Because all of Richard's children were mostly born around Bethnal Green, can I assume that he took his family back to his home turf where he was born. 

Id really appreciate some ideas and guidance on this one

hope to hear from you soon.

Best wishes

[stonechat]

It's very hard to know -especially as there are children born in Surrey as to where he might be from

[Cazza47]

Do not know if this will help but there is a Richard and Sarah Dean living in Hillingdon in the 1941 census. Also a Richard Dean died in 1868 in Amersham.
Carol

[Cazza47]

I see the Richard Samuel Dean that died in 1841 was buried 11th april at the same place in Stepney that Richard married Sarah, perhaps a clue to who he is.
Carol

[mike175]

... Or can I start to make assumptions ...

You certainly can . . . but be prepared to waste a lot of time if you follow the wrong line; the obvious assumption is not always the right one

In similar circumstances I now usually try creating a record in RootsMagic with all known events for each of the possible candidates. By following their lives I have often eliminated the wrong one(s) at an early stage.

Or, of course, open it up to RootsChat . . . 

Mike

[Nick29]

You have a similar problem to me - a family with a fairly common name, near London, and you don't know their origin.

I suspect that there's a lot more of us out there ! 

With my family it's not really a case of "Who was my g.g.g. grandfather ?" but more a case of who wasn't, because I have lots of candidates !

[Redroger]

If you have to make assumptions then it is in my opinion OK to do so, but thorough documentation of the assumptions becomes paramount if you are to keep control of your project.

[MaryA]

Why not try to investigate both? They could turn out to be cousins, and so your research wouldn't be wasted.  But at least along the way you may stand some chance of turning up a clue that might help eliminate one or the other.

[julianb]

The question I would ask myself is why were the first wadge of kids born in Mickleham?

If I was making any assumption on the info you've set out, then I would assume that Sarah Ellis was the east-ender (usually marry on the bride's patch), and that would make me wonder why did they end up in Mickleham (which is south of Dorking)

Perhaps Richard was from that area - there's no Richard Deans baptised 1770/1780s in Mickleham as far as I can tell, but the IGI shows a Richard Dean baptised in Dorking 18 April 1773 - parents Henry and Mary Dean.  My eyes light up at this because the eldest child of Richard and Sarah's is a Henry.

Alternatively is there a good industrial, silk-weaving reason for Richard being in Mickelham?

Does born 1773 fit with other info you have?

JULIAN