Four years of wasted research Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

[suey]

Sympathies.  I too have been there   

And me    I'm pretty sure most folks have taken a wrong turning at some point; not everyone likes to own up to it   

 

[Romilly]

Sympathies.  I too have been there   

And me    I'm pretty sure most folks have taken a wrong turning at some point; not everyone likes to own up to it 

I've been there too...

And I bet that lots of other folk on here have too!

Prior to the 1911 Census I was convinced that my Grandfather was the William James Wilson born 1860 Kirkby Ireleth, Lancs. I went ahead ordering BMD Certs left right and centre... and sent out family tree charts to family members. (I even visited up there, - to check out the addresses given on the Censuses).

Needless to say, - when the 1911 Census came out... my Grandfather William James Wilson (1860-1937) was living in Swansea/Married to my Grandmother/at home with his 6 sons, - (one of whom was my late father) & running his own company, 'Wilson & Co'.

William James Wilson in Kirkby Ireleth was unmarried/living at home/no children/working as an unskilled labourer at the slate quarry...

I had followed the wrong William James Wilson!!!

Romilly 

[Rainbow Quartz]

I've also wasted time going down the wrong route, in my case it was two Ernest Thomas Davey Jewells , and so I'm also very familiar with generations of a completely unrelated family! . Why did so many people in the nineteenth century have the same names? Sometimes an unusual name, or particular combination of names can be really helpful, but there's always the red herring or two to look out for! In my immediate family, my great great great grandfather John married Francis Oliver, and they named one of their sons John Oliver, and we've had John Olivers in every generation since, which is quite cool, and a way of keeping great great great grandmothers maiden name in the family. It also helped support possible family links which could then be investigated further.

[Annui]

Holding up my hand to this one too!      I've done it on more than one occasion.  With families of 10 and up, often with a narrow selection of first names in the same time span, it's an inevitable trap withing for the unwary - and even for the wary at times.   

I'm always "gobsmacked" as well when duplication appears so often in married couples' first names: two (at least) sets of Edwards ad Mary, John and Fanny, Benjamin and Sarah.....sigh all of the same generation, and within a mile or so of each other.  It must have been a confusing time for the gossips!

[LizzieW]

My 2 x g.grandmother Alice had 6 brothers (11 siblings in all) and they all used the same pool of names, Hannah, Elizabeth, Margaret, Peter, Mary Ann, Alice, John, Samuel, Thomas, Frederick and William.  It was quite a job sorting out which child belonged to which brother.  Fortunately, I contacted and was contacted by 3rd cousins descended from each brother and between us we managed to find which child belonged to which brother.  Without that input, it would have meant buying lots of birth certificates, or ignoring my 2 x g.grandmother's siblings and their families.

[snooziflooze]

According to my grandmother's marriage certificate, her father was an Albert Edward.  I duly noted this and applied my research accordingly, leading me for several months up a complete blind alley.  Eventually, I realised something was wrong and started looking for her side of the family using her mother's name.  Hey presto, all was revealed!  I found my grandmother on the 1911 census aged 3 in exactly the place she said she was born (and lived until her early twenties).  Yes, her father was an Albert all right, but with no middle name of Edward.  I've no idea why she seemed to think he had one!   

[robthenob]

Think of all the fun you will have, starting all over again.
I have been there and it better second time round.
Rob

[blake1]

  Cheer up...I've lost 30 years, mostly searching hard copies in London all before computers and am now running out of time.
Ken

[Flattybasher9]

"A cautionary tale"

Why worry. Post it on Ancestry, see how many copy it, and have the last laugh 

Regards

Malky