I hardly dare post this as I will never be taken seriously again on this site.
To cut a very long story short, my late father knew his grandmother very well. She was called Hannah Hibbert and she told him lots of tales about her childhood.
I couldn't find their marriage, but hey ho, what more proof do you need, the woman existed, my dad knew her, knew the names of her parents and so on. I traced the Hibberts back 8 generations.
In my own defence (and I need one!) this was pre-internet days and access to census etc wasn't easy.
Fast forward to my first computer and my first look at census in chronological order, so to speak. Horror of horrors, Hannah Hibbert was the second wife, the mother of none of the children (including my great grandmother). However, I left her in the tree, suitably placed, because my dad idolised the woman and she must have been lovely.
Tonight, idling about, I thought I'd have another look for their marriage. It isn't there. What IS there, and my blood ran cold, was Thomas Green to Hannah Wood, nee Gerrard.......
Found Hannah in 1871, married to Mr Wood and living in the household of Thomas Green's brother........
I've never been able to find the baps of Thomas Green and his brother John, despite knowing they were born in Gawsworth - their father says so in 1841 and they were there in 51 and 61. Could never find John Green after 1851, name too common.
John Green in 1871 says he was born in Salford......oh my!
Mr Wood is Thomas Green's nephew - his eldest sister Annie married a Wood and Fred is her son.
A final mystery is also solved - Thomas Green had four daughters. I knew them all well in their old age, and the youngest, Emily, left me a nice sum of money when she died.
Recently, digging around in some old papers, I found her will. She never married and made many bequests (but I got the most, lol!) including one to "my nephew, Edwin Wood". I had assumed Edwin was Annie's son. Nope, he was Hannah's son!
The moral of this tale - get the certs get the certs get the certs and never never take as fact what a family member tells you, no matter how well they remember the person.
(Hibbert was the name of Harriet Gerrard's mother, by the looks of it!)
Off to burn down my tree.
OC
To cut a very long story short, my late father knew his grandmother very well. She was called Hannah Hibbert and she told him lots of tales about her childhood.
I couldn't find their marriage, but hey ho, what more proof do you need, the woman existed, my dad knew her, knew the names of her parents and so on. I traced the Hibberts back 8 generations.
In my own defence (and I need one!) this was pre-internet days and access to census etc wasn't easy.
Fast forward to my first computer and my first look at census in chronological order, so to speak. Horror of horrors, Hannah Hibbert was the second wife, the mother of none of the children (including my great grandmother). However, I left her in the tree, suitably placed, because my dad idolised the woman and she must have been lovely.
Tonight, idling about, I thought I'd have another look for their marriage. It isn't there. What IS there, and my blood ran cold, was Thomas Green to Hannah Wood, nee Gerrard.......
Found Hannah in 1871, married to Mr Wood and living in the household of Thomas Green's brother........
I've never been able to find the baps of Thomas Green and his brother John, despite knowing they were born in Gawsworth - their father says so in 1841 and they were there in 51 and 61. Could never find John Green after 1851, name too common.
John Green in 1871 says he was born in Salford......oh my!
Mr Wood is Thomas Green's nephew - his eldest sister Annie married a Wood and Fred is her son.
A final mystery is also solved - Thomas Green had four daughters. I knew them all well in their old age, and the youngest, Emily, left me a nice sum of money when she died.
Recently, digging around in some old papers, I found her will. She never married and made many bequests (but I got the most, lol!) including one to "my nephew, Edwin Wood". I had assumed Edwin was Annie's son. Nope, he was Hannah's son!
The moral of this tale - get the certs get the certs get the certs and never never take as fact what a family member tells you, no matter how well they remember the person.
(Hibbert was the name of Harriet Gerrard's mother, by the looks of it!)
Off to burn down my tree.
OC
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