Hello,
My Grandad researched and drew a family tree for our HIGGS family ...
I am a total novice at family history research, but I would like to see if I can go back further. He never used the internet and visited records offices personally.
Hello
It is very very difficult to pick up, right at the family tree end (when the Tree researcher is stuck themselves), but you can try reworking the tree backward.
1. A family tree back to the 18th Century researched in Archives, ought to come with photocopies, or photographs, or scans of:-
Copy Registrar or GRO Certificates;
Wills;
Street Directory information;
Census Sheets;
Voters / Poll Books or Election Books (if they owned their property 19th Century and earlier, as it entitled the owner to Vote);
possibly they may show up in Land Tax or
Tithe Apportionment (usually with a Map);
possibly Apprentice documents or
possibly amongst surviving Manor or Landowner documents (if they rented fields or buildings from the Lord or Landowner) or
Other documents?
Also a fair amount of Working Notes?
Unfortunately, I knew I was at a dead end 20 years ago, but have one lever arch file containing my print copies of Certificates, Census Sheets, Parish records, with separate notes and other documents printed, in other files.
About every year I'll keep reviewing all the copy documents, to see if anything new, might fit now, (it is like a Review on an unsolved Police Murder Inquiry). Old family papers spanning 400 years of 3 characters and families, who were rubbing shoulders with my mystery ancestor, have just appeared on a catalogue!
2. There is far too much information to keep in your head when researching and dealing with a family tree going back this far.
When my mind has quickly gone rusty, those notes, dates, names, places and catalogue references are most important.
3. A person taking this on,
needs a thorough working knowledge inside out, of the family tree themselves and to see all the actual main evidence yourself ... the Certificates, Census, Will copies, Parish Register copies, Working Notes and all information acquired by your Grandfather.
Other people in the family household on Census day/night (1911 back to 1841) might be related, sometimes even a 'Visitor' in the Census has found to be related when researched.
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The Marriage listed as a Bishops Transcript image of the 1757 Banns Marriage is on FindMyPast and is most interesting, because it says it was the marriage John Higgs, but signed with the Mark of John Hicks??
A check of both an image of the actual Parish Register and Bishop's Transcript (copy of that Register) for comparison, is required.
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Witnesses - sometimes one or both can be church officials, but sometimes the witnesses might be relatives?
Mark
