Where next?

[squirrelinatree]

Using online resources my husband and I have both gone back to the 1841 census on all our direct lines, although admittedly could do with ordering a few certificates to confirm some people, but that aside we are now stuck on what to do next?  Looking on Familysearch there are some births and marriages which look possible to go back a couple more generations on some families but how can they be confirmed?  If we were to travel to a local records office to view baptism and marriage records (and other records?) would we actually be any further on?  How is it possible to confirm you have the correct families? Where do we go next?

[lizdb]

Pre  1841 (censuses) and pre 1839 (Civil Registration) certainly brings its challenges.

One of the keys is to confirm things from as many sources as possible. Do not be tempted just to "claim" someone from an online source because it is "the best fit". Look at original PRs as much as possible. See if people left Wills (they can be a wonderful source for piecing together families), research siblings to look for clues (who witnessed whose marriages etc - e.g. if you have two marriages for a John Smith on a parish register and you don't know which is "yours", but one has a witness called Lavinia Ponsonby, ....and further research reveal that "your" John Smith had a sister called Lavinia who married a Mr Ponsonby. Or alternatively further research reveals the "other" John Smith had a sister Laviniawho married Mr Ponsonby, thus suggesting that you van rule out that marriage). Work all around the people, lots of lateral thinking. Often you wont get proof of things like you do in later years, but you may get more and more circumstantial evidence, until you reach a point you are happy to accept that person as the right one. It will take time - be patient! 
You may have got back to 1841 in an afternoon, or a few sessions of "clicking" on online sources. When you get further back, be prepared for it to take a lot longer as you piece together bits and pieces to satisfy yourself you are on the right line. Remember not everything is online.
Most of all - enjoy!!!

[squirrelinatree]

Thank you.  Going laterally makes sense.  It has taken years, on and off, of online searching to get this far! If I go to a local records office will be able to see actual baptism and marriage certificates, or at least all the information about witnesses etc?  Where are wills held?  (I have only ever managed to find one online.)

[Guy Etchells]

Using online resources my husband and I have both gone back to the 1841 census on all our direct lines, although admittedly could do with ordering a few certificates to confirm some people, but that aside we are now stuck on what to do next?  Looking on Familysearch there are some births and marriages which look possible to go back a couple more generations on some families but how can they be confirmed?  If we were to travel to a local records office to view baptism and marriage records (and other records?) would we actually be any further on?  How is it possible to confirm you have the correct families? Where do we go next?

What you should have done to start with and what you have already alluded to!

Buy certificates!

Until you confirm your suppositions provided by census you actually know nothing.
It is far easier to get it right at the start by working carefully from what you know to what you don't know and confirming each step as you go with at least three separate sources than to grab the first family that looks about right then having to untangle a mess several years down the line.

Sorry to confirm what you hinted at in your posting but unless you build a good root your tree won't take and will not provide fruit in the future.

There is also a secondary reason for getting into the habit of doing research correctly to start with. When you progress past the easy part (civil records and census) if you have not followed the good practice of working from what you know through what you don't know and confirming each step you will quickly be overwhelmed with researching older records.

Cheers
Guy

[squirrelinatree]

To the extent of buying ever single birth marriage death certificate? 

[lizdb]

response to reply#2
There will not be certificates, just parish records.  Some can be viewed online, but usually a Local Record Office will have them on microfilm or microfiche.  Best to find out in advance when you know what areas you are looking at.  Some early Wills are online, some are at record offices, some have got lost in the passing of time! A Local record office may also have more specific records for things, so, for example I had an ancestor who was into oyster fishing, and at the relevant RO I found all sorts of records for the local fishing authority with him on. So, depending on what your ancestors did, you at find a visit to a Local RO comes up with more than just Parish registers!  But you need to do a bit of research first about what you are looking for, as a first visit to a Record Office can be overwhelming, though generally the staff are very helpful.
But, you at find the parishes you are looking at are well covered online, so you may get a lot of the basic PR stuff without having to visit the RO.
Take it one line at a time, and .....as I said before .....enjoy!!!


I see Guy has posted whilst I was typing.  I can only underline what he has wisely said! Don't venture into the pre 1841 era until you have firmed up what you have - or any work you spend time doing could on fact be following the wrong line altogether.  Wide words about getting into practice of confirming things from at least 3 sources.

[lizdb]

To the extent of buying ever single birth marriage death certificate?

Not necessarily. Depends how other factors back up what you have.

[squirrelinatree]

To the extent of buying ever single birth marriage death certificate?

Not necessarily. Depends how other factors back up what you have.

Like census? What else?

[lizdb]

Checking mothers maiden name in birth index. Wills. Looking at siblings.  Seeing if there is anyone else with the same name around - if yours is the only person around with that name, birthplace and birthyear, then you can be more sure than if there were several.  Hard to say without seeing all that you have! Only you will know (after researching) how sure you are of what you have found - but your initial post did say you were needing some certificates to confirm people, implying there must be a hint of  doubt!  So - don't venture further back till those things are confirmed!