Bill worked for Sharkey.
Month: March 2013
Duckworth, Redford or Both?
9 years after I posted a message on an Ancestry.com message board I received a response! So never give up hope about some of your more silent lines. They can perk up at any moment.
Basically the message pointed me to this website, where he found my 3rd Great Grandparents in the Marriage Index!
The index doesn’t give too much information right away. Though it does give you enough to order if you so desire. My particular record wasn’t available for the order online option so I started trying to figure out how else I could find it. I thought about upgrading my Ancestry.com membership, but I didn’t see Chesire records in the databases. I didn’t want to commit that much money if I wasn’t going to have a big payoff.
I wasn’t sure what name to search for Samuel under, so I searched on FamilySearch for the bride instead. I found their entry in a Chesire Parish Register index! This opens a bit more information up for me. Samuel’s father is listed as William Duckworth, but Samuel uses the surname of Redford. Most likely his parents didn’t marry and Samuel used his mother’s surname. I also confirm that the Frances Wright Travis I got quick glimpses of in previous quick searches is in fact my girl. Her father’s name is also listed. I’ve watched enough of the British WDYTYA? by now to understand how their records are laid out. I still wish they had asked for the mother’s names though!
By the time I got to this point, to say my mood was good would be an understatement. I still wanted to see if there was anyway other then sending a SASE to England on getting a look at this record. It was then I made an inane comment to myself.
I wish that they had a ScotlandsPeople like site for England.
It was as I was finishing that thought out loud that I realized, wait a minute…
I read enough genealogy blogs to remember that the people behind the ScotlandsPeople website had also made a website for England. I was able to choose from a few options. There were a bunch of subscription options with full unlimited access to the site. I didn’t need that much access though, because I don’t have a ton of England searching to do. Just a few families so far. So I decided to purchase my 280 credits (good for a full year) and see how far that got me.
When I logged into Find My Past, I ended up opening a ton of tabs in my browser. I had a few different searches going. I was moving things from one computer screen to another. It was hectic, it was crazy and I realized I had to slow it down, and take it easy.
That’s right I moved to the kitchen table with my laptop. It forced me to do only what the computer could handle. I couldn’t open a million tabs, I couldn’t have Facebook going while I searched. I also couldn’t get distracted by the TV or other things around my computer. It was just me and the laptop at the table. I did miss being able to have Family Tree Maker open on one monitor and the records on the other, but sometimes you have to slow down so you don’t miss adding your citations in! That’s one of the things I’ve learned. Sometimes I devour records and then wonder where I saw things again.
From Find My Past, I was able to find the index entry again for Samuel and Frances. This time I was able to head over to the GRO website and actually order the certificate online! I can’t wait to get to see it. Maybe it will give me some hints as to William Duckworth’s occupation so I can narrow down my search a little more. You never know!
I was able to make a ton of progress on Frances’ family. I even found her siblings christening dates in another FamilySearch index. I followed her family through the 1881 census. She left for America in 1870/71, so it will be interesting to see how her family grew in her absence! Even after all the progress, I still have 210 credits left to use. I don’t want to waste them, so I’ll make a plan before I do anymore searching. It’s nice to know that I can send for birth and marriage records though, for a relatively cheap price after the conversion. What I paid for Samuel and Frances’ marriage record will still end up cheaper than all I’ve put into trying to find William H Moore’s death record in New Jersey!
I’ve filled in a little more of my family tree and it feels good! It a little strange to see the change of surname from Samuel to William Duckworth. It’s all I’ve got to go on for now though, so we’ll see where it goes!
Diary of Llewellyn: March 8, 1925
Bill & I went with Roswell to Hasbough Heights. Girl sick met D?(unreadable). Geo & Flop, Mama & Papa, Bill & I all went in Chandler to Suffern at night.
Next Entry: March 9, 1925
The Agnes Chronicles Continue
I’m starting to think I blog to name things and give them cool title graphics. Either way, I decided to spend my first day back from being a little sick (a lot sick) by analyzing my Agnes again. After my last post, David was gracious enough to send me the scans. It was so fun to look at them. One of my favorite things to do is to decipher handwriting. In fact, I’m pretty obsessed with handwriting and naming patterns. I actually use to “change” my handwriting all the time in school. Just for fun. It’s crazy to look back and see how different I made each change. My signature loops were always a standout. You can change a lot about your handwriting, but some things always stay the same.
Anyway, David was also nice enough to say that I could share the Agnes passage with everyone here on the blog. His only request is that it stay here. I hope everyone respects that. I’ve added a watermark also, showing that the image is David’s property. I would hope everyone would honor his wishes and not post this scan anywhere else on the internet.
The whole document was basically a written out family history of the Reverend Andrew Hamilton and his family. It was a fascinating read definitely! I’m very grateful to hear from a descendant of this line so that I can once and for all rule out a certain family. I’m now positive that Agnes #2 isn’t my Agnes. However, that doesn’t mean all these Hamiltons aren’t related by a further up connection. Remember not to discount anyone with a matching surname from the same area. This family could be the 3rd cousins of my family, or even just first cousins. I won’t know until I’ve really nailed down which family is the right family.
I did some brief note taking on the children of Thomas Hamilton and Agnes Cuthbertson, or as you know their daughter, Agnes #1. This means I’ve done a basic search for all three Agnes’ siblings and parents. Agnes #3 was previously researched here on this blog post.
Besides knowing Agnes #2 isn’t my Agnes, I haven’t gone any further then the notes you see above. Actually, I can’t seem to find my sheet of paper for Agnes #3, so it’s a good thing I took a picture! Though I should be able to re-make it thanks to ScotlandsPeople‘s previous searches page.
I think my next option is to see if I can hunt down any census records or other marriage/death records for both Agnes’ left in the running. Alas, that will have to wait until my next credits purchase as I’ve run myself out again. I do that quickly.
Previous Agnes Posts:
I have created a new blog category for the Agnes Chronicles. All future and past posts can be found under that category.
Diary of Llewellyn: March 5, 1925
Met Bill at Erie for Institute. Went out on 5:44 to Blfd. Rained.
