Can anyone just check for me if I am on the right track.....

[rachelashby]

I know its a big ask but I have so many names etc now that im running the risk of getting confused or click-happy on Ancestry.com.

I have a tree on Ancestry.com and just want someone to go over what I have done so far to see if its correct?....

Please PM me so I can give my details. thanks x

[Rainy]

I am happy to have a look if you would like

[Olde Crone Holden]

Rachel

With respect, if YOU don't know if your tree is accurate or not, how could a stranger know? The only way to know if your tree is accurate is to get supporting evidence such as BMD certs, or at least church records, wills, census etc.

OC

[Uncle John]

Click-happy is not a good idea at all. It's sad fact that your tree can get completely tangled going back even 2 generations if you don't have the paper evidence. Speaking personally, I don't have the time to spend on creating a beautifully-crafted work of fiction.

[Christine in Herts]

To be fair, a stranger won't be able to tell if your tree is accurate, but they might be able to spot something glaringly wrong... but you would be able to spot that.

The usual problems arise from lack of back-up information (documentation, mainly), but one that does crop up (and I have fallen into that trap myself) is arithmetic failure: marrying people who aren't alive at the same time, or children being born before their parents, or other such daftnesses. It's easy to rush through picking up plausible, but wrong, information if you don't stand back to look at the whole picture.

Christine

[rachelashby]

I see what you mean. It's just I don't want to spend money ordering certificates if its not the right person. For example there is one name that has lots of entries and whilst I think I have the right one how do you know??

[Chrissie Smiff]

Hi Rachel and welcome to FTF
If you would like some help and you are happy to post the names,dates and areas that you know for sure, there are lots of members on here who would be happy to help I'm sure. You mustn't of course give any names of people who are still alive (or who may be).
I know how confusing it can be if you are fairly new to all this but the only way we could really help is if you give us some details.

[kylejustin]

make sure you have records (births, deaths, marriages) for your parents and grandparents too. i remember one person on this forum had just assumed they knew about their immediate family, and only after many years of research and hundreds of years back, did they realise their grandmother was the second wife, and they had no idea she was not their biological grandmother.

you must get certificates. if you have a few options, post the problem here, we may be able to help you pick the right one.
specially if you have deaths in the GRO index and no age recorded. the NBI (national burial index) could help you narrow down which, if any are right.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Another welcome message from me, Rachel.

I would be happy to look at your tree if you want to send me the link, not necessarily to check your data, but to advise you if there are any online records which may help. There are a number of parish register collections which are becoming available online which may give you the information you are looking for without necessarily having to order a certificate - for example marriage registers which give the same information as you would find on a certificate. It just depends if these collections cover your area of research!

.. and as the others have said, if you have a problem not knowing if you are going down the right line, give us some names and dates and what you have already found, and we will see if we can help. (No names of living people though!)

[Guy]

Sorry to sound negative but the only way to be sure of the information you have is by researching from the known to the unknown.
This means purchasing certificates or viewing original records and registers (even those of recent family members whose information you think you are sure of) not just relying on online possibilities.
Many genealogists have been thrown off course by not checking recent information.

I would also suggest you form the habit of "killing off" your ancestors as you go along. Some think it is a waste of money buying death certificates or viewing burial records, but as you reach further into the past, errors quickly happen and confusion arises when a dead person is assumed to still be alive.

The old adage more speed lest haste applies in family history, take your time to source, check your information at every step, that way you will not have to scrap months or years of work later when an unread record rears its head.
Cheers
Guy

[Christine in Herts]

And following on from Guy's remarks - please note down your sources... You think you'll remember where you found things (it's obvious, isn't it?) but somehow, you don't. Then when you need to go back and check fro some extra info you hadn't noted down at the time - or just to make sure you'd noted the info correctly - you can't remember where to look. I've made that mistake myself, and I've seen lots of posts here: "Please help me find where I got my info from."

Christine

[rachelashby]

what i mean is......if there are two people, same name and same age but in different areas - how would you know what one is the right one? i know my mothers mother and thats as far as i know from my family....everything else i have reached has been from searching records but even then im not 100% sure. How do you know for sure?

[Olde Crone Holden]

The only way to know for sure is to get the certificates.

For example, you know your mother's mother. If you get her marriage cert, it will give you her father's name and her age, which should help you to identify her birth. Her birth cert will then give you her parents' names and so on backwards.

However, sometimes there are two possible candidates, especially if the surname is common and I'm afraid sometimes you WILL order the wrong cert That's one of the perils of family history, lol. Once you get back to the census years it can be easier to identify the right person.

OC

[rachelashby]

ok i will start with the certificates for the people i know and work from there. thank you

[Olde Crone Holden]

I take it your grandmother (your mum's mum) is deceased? If so, you could put her name up on here and we will try to guide you backwards.

OC

[Elizabeth Herts]

Rachel, please do post up what you know to be true (e.g. your grandmother's death) and let us look for you, to either confirm what you have or disprove it.

I'm sure if you start with some fundamentals the members here can help, but of course you must back up any theories with the purchase of the appropriate certificates.

[Christine in Herts]

ok i will start with the certificates for the people i know and work from there. thank you

And make sure you get the certs directly from the sources (generally £9-£10 each). If you go via any agent that price will probably triple.

Christine

[rachelashby]

Ok my mother (deceased) born 23 Jan 1964 died 13 Jan 2013. Her mum is Doris Ethel Fisk born 6 Aug 1926. However, she was brought up by Bertha Fisk who was actually her aunt (doris was born out of wedlock). Fisk is Bertha's married name and I (think) I found out her maiden name was Dilley. So I searched for Doris Ethel Dilley and found a record (I have ordered the certificate but not yet received). Bertha married Richard Fisk. Berthas mum and dad were emmaline Richardson and Harry James dilley and emmaline mum and dad were Ann pinhorne and William Richardson. There are lots of different spellings for emmaline and lots of dilleys and I'm getting confused the older I look back!

[Elizabeth Herts]

So this is the certificate you have ordered, Rachel?

Name: DILLEY, Doris E
Registration district: Holborn
County: London
Year of registration: 1926
Quarter of registration: Jul-Aug-Sep
Mother's maiden name: Dilley
Volume no: 1B
Page no: 850

[Elizabeth Herts]

I have found the marriage of Richard J Fisk and Bertha Dilley - note it didn't take place until 1931.

March 1931
Dilley Bertha Fisk Islington 1b 203
Fisk Richard J Dilley Islington 1b 203