The Exploring Family History Tutorial
Summary
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Task: Review the progress |
Basically the search went remarkably smoothly - and if the bible had not existed there would have been no difficulty in coming to the same results. Using online services, backed with certificates which could be identified and ordered online, Gladys Horwood's ancestors have been traced back to her great grandparents and her Hertfordshire connection. In three places copies of parish registers have been used [in fact two are still to be obtained and details will be added as soon as possible.] - but these came from microfilms which are also available the the L.D.S. Family History Centres (addresses on familysearch) and in some cases other major family history libraries.
While the bible provided a bare skeleton of the family tree, the searches carried out here provide a lot more detail - with occupations and addresses, and other details which make the people more human. The bible proved its value in identifying siblings who died in infancy, but failed to mention James Horwood's first marriage which tragically ended a few weeks later with the death of the bride.
Some lessons:
While the Hertfordshire connections only appeared late in the day, all the techniques apply to research anywhere in England.
While Ancestry is not free its ability to search all the censuses from 1851 to 1901 make it a very powerful tool at a very reasonable price.
In a number of cases transcription and other errors, were noted including one probably made by the census enumerator - where an individual is "Walter" in one census and "Halken" in the next (view). Such errors can make it virtually impossible to find someone. Errors in civil registration records are well known - see A Comedy of Errors.
A particular case related to the mispelling of Horwood as Harwood in the 1881 census (view) where the search engine with familysearch proved much better than the one with Ancestry
It is important to remember that, in addition to errors, some negative searches are because the information you want is not yet online, or unavailable for other reasons. FreeBMD provides guidance on this. Ancestry and familysearch are less helpful.
Nearly everything that was looked for was found, without going up any false alleyways (see Right Name, Wrong Body). In many cases it will not prove easy to find all census entries, and all certificate or parish register entries one would like. In this example James Horwood first married a Mary Ann and then a Mary - and if the bible did not exist, and shortcuts had been taken (for instance saving money by not buying certificates) there is the real possibility that Mary Ann would have been taken to be the mother of his children.
Unanswered Questions:
Any family history research ends up by generating more "unanswered questions" than you started with. There are lead for further exploration of the Horwood, Town and King families - including some tantalizing cousin references. The Guildhall Library undoubtedly contains extensive information on the Newgate Market and the jewellery trade, which at least will provided social and historical background, and which may even include references to the Horwood family. However this is basically a tutorial, and it is inappropriate to follow the London aspects of the story further on a site devoted to Hertfordshire people.
What comes next:
Session 2 is a multithreaded examination of Elizabeth Lewin's siblings, as described in the 1857 text in the bible by John Lewin junior (view). In each case it attempts to follow their descendents until they leave Hertfordshire or otherwise disappear from the record. to include examples of a very wide range of document types. It will also provide information (sometimes via links to other web sites) to the places they lived.
Session 3 continues to explore back over preceding generations, starting from Elizabeth Lewin's father, John Lewin of Abbey Mill, St Albans, and her grandfather, Francis Lewin of Bushey Hall, near Watford. This will attempt to include information and examples on as wide a range of different documents as possible.
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Investigation
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