Genealogy Chat

Just a reminder for peeps especially newbies who believe a cert is official and therefore correct!

Today I got a marriage cert (a week early!). It was for a William Thomas Edroff. Now this guy is the son of one of my Hansons - Mary who married Thomas Michael Edroff in 1831 and had 4 kids before the poor bloke died at only 30 from typhus in 1838. He was a cooper (which ties in with my Hansons work) The kids were all 6 years and under when they lost their dad. Mary went on to marry a William Summers in 1850. He took the kids on and Mary and he had no children themselves. Now on this marriage cert it gives father as William Thomas Edroff, cooper. His younger bro ALSO gives father as William Thomas Edroff, cooper. I KNOW these two boys are the sons of Thomas Michael Edroff, cooper. I know they were adopted into the family with William Summers. In fact this William Edroff went on to name his first son William Summers Edroff. (Nice that he thought that much of step dad). SO, if it had not been such an unusual name, how easy it would have been to have discarded this as the wrong cert and wrong people. I can only assume William was told one time he was named after his father (Thomas - middle name) and he thought it meant the whole William Thomas bit. I guess he told his little bro that too.

I have 2 people, one male and one female who put a fictional father on their marriage certs when in fact they were born our of wedlock. That had me going round in circles for a while.

Same thing with occupation. My classic 'gardener' for a guy who was a guardsman! We tend to forget people were copying these records out and it is so easy for a mistake to be made that throws us completely.

I have had a few wrong ones but later on down the track I have linked them up. The other day I had two wrong ones from Scotlandspeople. Maybe they too will end up being connected.. Marion