Genealogy Chat

Helen Have sent you a message Margaret

Yes, and add to that lot a heavy head cold and a cloth-eared clerk and the possibilities are endless. Also,I have an ancestor called Hugh Holden, he was the Parish Clerk for about 15 years. In the course of those 15 years he signed the registers every year to say they were correct. He spelt his OWN NAME as Hugh Holding, Hugh Holdin and Hugh Houlden!!!

SOME OF YOU YOUNGER ONE'S TEND TO FORGET THAT ONLY 50/60YEARS AGO MANY PEOPLE LEFT SCHOOL UNABLE TO WRITE ANYTHING MORE THAN THEIR OWN NAME & DEPENDANT UPON WHICH PART OF THE COUNTRY YOU CAME FROM IT WAS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND THE 'LOAL DIALECT' IF YOU HAPPENED TO STRAY ACROSS THE COUNTY BORDER(indeed I can recall in the days of my youth cycling through a village no more than 12 miles from my home being totally unable to understand the the reply given when we asked for directions) NOW IF YOU PROJECT THIS BACKWARDS IS IT NOT UNDERSTANDABLE THAT JACK BROWN GETS TRANSCRIBED AS 'JECK BROON' AS THATS WHAT THE TRANSCRIBER ACTUALLY HEARD (many of us have experienced this in the changes made to our own name spellings inour researchs) WE MUST ALL REMEMBER THAT 'LOCAL DIALECTS' HAVE BEEN ALMOST SMOOTHED OUT OVER THE LAST 30/40 YEAR SO I ASK YOU TO REMEMBER THAT THE FURTHER YOU GO BACK IN TIME THE MORE COMMON (apparent to us) IT IS TO FIND THAT 'DIALECT' USED BY THE GIVER OF INFORMATION SUFFERS IN ITS TRANSCRIPION BY THE CENSUS TAKER OR THE VERGER

Thanks for that Margaret, I think that I might end up with some family in Staffordshire.....think G G Grandfather came from there but havn't really looked into it yet, trying to find the Lancashire/Cheshire ones at the moment

Hi Helen - when I joined GR earlier this year, I was nervous about asking 'silly' questions ... until someone said that a question is only silly if you don't ask it! Asking questions is the only way to learn, and I think it took most of us some time to realise that names were transcribed in many different ways! I have Wilcox in my family and have it spelt Wilcox, Willcox, Wilcocks and Willcocks, yet only realised this recently after I'd been following the wrong Wilcox!! Good luck! Mandy :)

Helen My husband has Sharratts in his line, from Staffs. They can be found as Sherratt, Sherrett, Shattock, Sharrock. The soundex on Ancestry doesnt pick them all up either. Margaret

Sharrett! Well now I'm banging my head on the desk. I'm new to this and I'm never sure where to look for anything, but I'm learning. Thanks everyone

Helen I've deleted my last message cos it looks like Brenda's got him! Lou

Thanks Lou, Ormskirk is the birth place on both census records, and I have just received a copy of my Grandparents marriage cert which shows a George Sherratt as witness. When people were witnesses did they have to sign their full name or just the name that they were known by?

There's this for June 1885: Sharrett George Ormskirk 8b 840

OK Lou, Thanks My Great Uncle was :- George Sherratt born about 1885 in Ormskirk. In 1901 lived at 20 Travis St. Widnes with his mother and Stepfather This is all I know

Helen Post his details and someone might be able to help Lou

On the 1891 and 1901 census I can find my Great Uncle aged 6 and then 16. Is there any reason why I can't find his birth record on 1837 on line, for 1884 1885 or 1886? What am I doing wrong?