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When I finally manage to write up my notes and attach them to the various bits of the tree, I always have a page or two of what I call "strays". They may or may not be part of the family but I write up the details as tidily as possible and keep them all on the one or two pages - just in case. Sometimes, going back, I've made odd connections, other times nothing, but I will hang on to them - just in case.
But be warned, this can be how a One Name Study starts - that's how I started mine! Addictive or what?
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Hi Nightowl
I totally agree. I've got notepads going back to when I started my research, and it's amazing what you write down then forget about.
Patricia
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Just a very useful tip, write written notes of anything you may feel useful, but at the time dosent look relevant.and keep them! Also look back on them occassionally
I have been doing family history for 5 years now, and when I started I had to go into libraries, graveyards etc as I didnt have the internet in the beginning I had to write every thing down..I didnt know anything about my family at all.
So my written notes were vital
I have about 13 books!
I had been contacted a few weeks ago about two people on my tree that I didnt think were related.
After a lot of discussion and further research, and copies of a birth cert already got, It turns out that I knocked down a brick wall for this person.
But we were still stuck on the male side a Cooper and a gypsy at that.
I was decluttering last night and going through old note books from 3 years ago.
I visited a grave in Queens road cemetary Croydon and took photos of it as well as notes.
My computer crashed and i lost the photos. I returned this year as that is where my family hail from and took some more photos.
Now the revelation was, I had listed who was in the grave 3 years ago, and the couple that we were looking for was in that grave.
Why didnt I know ? as it contains other families all related as siblings etc differnt names.THe main person the grandmother was the person I was related to. So I didnt take much notice of the rest.As I was reading it to see if I could discard it the names jumped out at me.
After contacting the daughter of the grave asking why she had this couple in her grave, she explained that the Daniel Cooper interred there was her grandfathers brother and his name was Taylor.!
It turns out their father was a Taylor and their mother was a Cooper.Daniel was born first, need I say more.
I checked on the new photos and there it was staring me in the face.
We are now stuck with the next generation back, as we dont know where their father Joshua Taylor comes from.
We couldnt find a marriage for Daniel and his wife Mary Jane Mills.
Originally from the census she was written down as Jane.
How did my rellie know her name, from his grandmothers birth cert.
BUT I had her birth cert.
Our research has now gone down another path, only because I had written notes that I hadnt thrown away!!
The other tip is if you cant find a family member birth record from the name they were known by, try their mothers surname if you know it!.
I have another gypsy family the Coopers again, Robert Cooper and Sylvia Williams. Most of their children on the census were known as Cooper but official records say they are Williams.
Now I am going through all my notebooks with a fine tooth comb to see if there is anything else I can filter out.
Another tip is if you see a grave which contains a family name that you recognise in an area known to your family snap it with a camera. and keep it to one side just in case!.
Good hunting
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