I have been fortunate with a number of ancestors as they were not ag labs (or similar) and had sufficient assets that a PCC or local will was necessary. Having well written wills that name their wife, children, grand children, nieces, nephews, brother or sister in laws, etc does make the researching life much simpler.
Both of my paternal grandparents came from well documented lines so I had a really good starting point, I still had to check each piece of information but over 95% was accurate.
Maternal grandparents were the opposite but did stay in the same areas for several generations.
Sadly they both came from the junior sons or daughters so little cash passed to them and no property
But at least they were named in the wills.
PR's are a great help but they are only as good as the person that completed them and sadly I have had the experience of a vicar with selective memory or perhaps filling in the register each week from memory after downing the remaining communion wine.
I also have brick walls with people born in the early 1800's and 3 generations of successive illegitimate children with no bastardy orders found.
There are some good trees on Ancestry and I will happily look at the ones with sources to see if they are sensible, logical and a possible angle of research. The rubbish thread started solely due to some of the absolute junk that is there as well. Sadly it then expands as other people think "that name fits, I'll have them" and ignore minor facts like where and when.
I do have both male & female lines back to the late 1500's, however I have found that the biggest stumbling block is often the interregnum where a someone could be hatched, matched & despatched without a record being made.
Edward
