General Chat

Thought you might like to share this major breakthrough! (see message)

Late last year another GC member and I found we had a common link and within a week or two I had found someone else on another site. The link was my husband's 2xgt grandfather, a blacksmith in London, who had stumped us all. We had plenty of other information between us but nowhere could we find his birth. A couple of months ago the GC contact found him in a trade directory, passed the information on to the other one who found him through the address given in the directory. She found him on the 1861 and 1871 Censuses with his family and it transpired his father was born in Devon - and not London as we had all assumed. This information came a couple of weeks before I was due to go on holiday to Devon, to stay in the village where MY ancestors came from. Hubby's 3xgt was born about 20 miles away, so the relly-hunting took a new turn. Instead of looking for mine we looked for his. At the local RO we found the surname spelling was different (in fact 3 different spellings) - so NEVER ASSUME - and we found a further FOUR generations. We also found gravestones (although not the specific ones we want, as yet). We now have plenty more names to 'get our teeth into', and between the three of us we have managed to knock a few bricks out of the wall - all in a matter of a few months. Who knows what the next few months will bring - we each have our preferred ways of tackling the task and now have so much more to work on. It's rather nice that we were all stuck with the same ancestor. Finding him has been quite special!! So, Good Luck to those who seem to have hit the brick wall. You'll get there in the end - provided you're not too blinkered, and of course it helps if you can find a GC contact, too!!!! Sue