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Organising and Interpreting Family History

Any serious genealogical work will lead to amassing a large volume of information, some of it amenable to computerisation but much of it in the form of raw documents such as death and marriage certificates, copies and paper ephemera. The researcher needs to think about the organisation and presentation of such material at an early stage. It is also prudent to be meticulous about recording the source of any snippet of information. You will regret it if you do not do so - believe me. And that is from someone who did not always follow his own advice.

Remember that your record system, whatever form it may take, must account for speculation and tentative guesses as well as 'verifiable facts'. We will return later to 'facts' which, in genealogical work, can often turn out to be very shaky if not misleadingly wrong.

One major consideration is that we are not only dealing with 'facts' but also probabilities. John Smith may well have been born on January 23 1857 but is this the relevant John Smith? Quite often we have to use 'working hypotheses', in scientific jargon. In other words, a supposition based on the most likely probability at a particular moment in time. Be prepared to have to change a fondly-held belief in a father and daughter or wife and husband relationship when one set of 'facts' is upset by a newer one. Genealogical research - like any other kind of research - is a fluid, changeable process.

Unfortunately, it turns out that the John Smith we have been looking for is not the one born in 1857 but his father's brother's son, also John, born three years later. Or, possibly, his grandfather's first cousin's son born in 1855. Yet another John Smith.

John and Smith are common names but experience in family history will tell you that many other names are common, both first and family. Moreover, the selection of first names seems to be remarkably unimaginative with the same set of, largely Christian, first names repeated over and over down the generations. John, James, Peter, George are just a few examples.

In fact, families often used the same names as a matter of principle, so that little George was named after his uncle George, who was himself named after HIS uncle George. Even less common surnames are associated with repeated first names: Jefferson Higginbotham may seem an uncommon combination, but not when a family has named the first born son as such for five generations.

When you realise that one family has spawned a confusing collection of individuals with repeated names, in over-lapping generations and across multiple branches, panic and disillusionment can be the result. But keep your head and persist - something sensible will emerge.

Previous page: Memorials.

Genealogy Articles

Tracing Family History
Your Family History
Genealogy Information
Organizing Family History
The Victorian Apprentice
The Victorian Character Reference
Victorian Appointments - including the Admiralty and Custom House
More Victorian Appointments - including the Inland Revenue, Post Office, Bank of England and East India House
A Victorian Domestic Servant
The Victorian Employment Relationship

Family Histories

Walter Walter Family - Babcary, Somerset
Lucy Penny nee Leach
Daniel Walter Family - Babcary, Somerset
Philip Walter and Susannah Trotman
William Gillett - Brailes, Warwickshire
John Gillett - Brailes and Cheltenham
The Family of Mary Walter and Edwin Oliver Locke
Albert Walter - Illinois
Hugh and Robert Walter - Kansas
David Walter - Babcary and Swansea
Family of Thomas Rosser of Coychurch, Glamorgan
Caroline Walter and William Whittle
Benjamin Walter - Slough and Eton
Gaius Penny Walter - Somerton and Southsea
Susanna Walter and Philip George Hayes
Jacob Walter and Eliza Gillett
Henry Walter - Liverpool
Jacob Walter - London and Liverpool
Harold Philip Mcleod Walter
Horne Family - Careby, Lincolnshire
The Horne Family of Combe, Oxfordshire
Caroline Williams - St Hilary, Glamorgan
William Thomas Davies - Brynaman, Glamorgan and Perth, WA
Davies Family - Lower Brynaman, Glamorgan
John James, Grosmont
James Price and Jane James - Cwmyoy and Grosmont
Tom James Price and Rosa Madia Thomas, Llanfihangel Talyllyn
John Walter Price and Lilian Jenkins, Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil
William and Mary Williams, Cayo
John and Susanna Davies, Llansadwrn, Cayo
Arthur Price and Elizabeth Ann Davies, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen
Thomas family, Oakfield, Llanfihangel Talyllyn
Prosser family, Talgarth
John Jones and Rebecca Thomas, Cwmaman
Thomas and Jemimah Jones - Brynaman, Glamorgan
Thomas Family - Banwen, Glanaman, Carmarthenshire
John Jones and Mary James, Clydau, Cilrhedin, Llanelli
Rees Rees of South Wales, Illinois and Iowa
Samuel and Sarah Jones - Llanelli, Ebbw Vale, Glanaman
Hannah and William D John - South Wales and Scranton, Pa
Daniel Jones and Anne Rees
Mary Jones and Watkin Williams
Lillicrapp Furrier
Barber Family of South Stoneham
Letter from Elizabeth Saffhill 1927
Saffhill Family Tree


Wills and Probate Records: A Guide for Family Historians

Wills and Probate Records: A Guide for Family Historians


Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837

Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837


The Genealogist's Internet

The Genealogist's Internet: The Essential Guide to Researching Your Family History Online


Family Photographs 1860-1945

Family Photographs 1860-1945 (Public Record Office Genealogist's Guides)


Family Photographs and How to Date Them

Family Photographs and How to Date Them


Writing Your Family History: A Practical Guide

Writing Your Family History: A Practical Guide



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