I've found my Grandfather in 1901!!

[Oscar]

What a performance!

David John Passe has been hiding from me for ages.I have tried variations of spelling, plus 'Vaughan' as his widowed mother Hannah, was always believed to have remarried a William Vaughan, so I sent for the cert, just to make sure - wrong Hannah :(.

So, back to square one. Then, talking to my cousin, he casually says 'My Dad always said that David was brought up by the Arnold family'. So, I look again in 1901 and there he is as 'John Arnold' with the right birth date and place and a 'coal miner/hewer' which is what he was in later life too. ;)

It gets better!

I then look for a possible marriage and there it is, in 1894. Arthur Arnold and Hannah 'Pask'. No wonder I couldn't trace her!

I am so excited that at long last I've traced him - he has given me so much trouble at every stage - even re-marrying after my grandmother's death and none of us cousins ever knew - nobody mentioned it.

I've now ordered the right marriage certificate - another piece put in the jigsaw :D.

Gwyn

[Rachel Scand]

That's great news ! .... bet you'll be smiling all weekend

[dicole]

Congrats. isn't it great when you finally track them down. a great satisfaction.

It took me ages to find my great-grandfathers. In 1901 James Eccles was hiding under James E Cales because there was a small space between the E and the C. In 1881, Reuben Page was misindexed as Reuben Pater, but fortunately, his oddly written birthplace was a clue, because he was living far from home at the time.

Its great to prove it can be done with perservance and patience
Di

[Christine in Herts]

Well done! What good news.

Christine

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

Well done - and it's more satisfying than when people are found easily!!

[Heather Positive Thinker]

Oh wonderful, isnt it a lovely feeling when this sort of thing happens.

[Little Nell]

Congratulations!

[Oscar]

Thank you all - I am on such a buzz at the moment. As Merry says, the hard ones are much more fun aren't they? The only thing left now is his Army pension record, but I think it must be amongst those which were destroyed. That's my excuse for not being able to find them anyway!

Gwyn

[katkin bluebell]

Congratulations Gwyn
Hard work always pays off
Sandra

[Little Nell]

Very satisfying. I had been looking for marriage for my gt x 3 grandparents' marriage without success. Found the parish marriage register too badly damaged to read, but yesterday looked at the banns and found them both! She was recorded as Chizia instead of Kezia.

[Oscar]

Genealogy is a bit like cryptic crosswords isn't it - lateral thinking and a bit of help from your cousin :D ! Perhaps that's why I like both. In the early days, I remember looking up ancestors and if the surname wasn't spelled correctly - 'well, that can't be him/her'.

I've learned ;) - fast!!

Gwyn