Genealogy Chat

I dismissed some as I found they were neighbours ,but with a bit more research found that they lived next door to the married sister.... Another time I found evidence of a double wedding as the witnesses were the same for both couples. I eventually found my great grandfather on the census stay at the other husbands house, so I would say yes it is all relevant! it must be very rare for the witnesses not to have a connection somewhere. Kim

HI all, many many thanks. I will have a nose about on the sites to see if i can drum up some more info for the tree. with so many brothers sisters aunts uncles cousins etc etc its likely they could be of some connection. if not ill just add some more bricks to the ever increasing wall! incidently did you see the ultimate film on sunday>? The sound of music raced in at 2nd most popular. i was having a sing along much to hubbies dismay! all the best Corrina

Oh yes! Roaming around the bottom of my brick wall, I was looking for an Edith Holden, of unknown relationship, but her name was on a list of "People" which my late father had written out. I hadn't a clue about her really, but found one who MIGHT have been right, sent for the cert, but was no wiser really when it came and gave up. Much later, I was tidying up and happened to glance at the cert again and the name of one of the witnesses seemed rather familiar - Clara Lees. I did a frantic search round the house, till I came across some books left by my Gt Grandmother. Inside one was the inscription "To Ellenor, with the love of her friend Clara Lees". So Clara Lees was known to my Gt Grandmother (a very ordinary woman) and also to Edith Holden, considerably grander. This has led to some fascinating research and tantalising connections - Ediths parents, born and bred in Lancashire, married on the Isle of Man, from the home of the VERY grand Janetta Walker nee Houlding (wife of a Gentleman)....My Holden GT GT Grandmother was born on the Isle of Man. Try as I might, I can't find the missing link, but I'm sure there is one. And its only Clara Lees, witness at the marriage, which has led me to this, I would never have found it otherwise. Incidentally, Edith Holden's sisters-in-law married between them, a relative of von Bismarck; a distant relative of Franz Josef of Austria and, my favourite - Baron von Trapp, yes, yes, The Hills Are Alive.....

Unless the best man or bridesmaid are relatives, of course. I was bridesmaid and witness at my cousin's wedding[she was the bride], and the best man/witness was the groom's brother. nell

Witness details can often prove helpful. I have been looking at a newly acquired marriage certificate just today. Of the 2 named witnesses one turns out to be the other un-named parent of the newly-weds. With further research using Freed BMD and LDS I have now been able to find this persons maiden name and in turn this has got me back another 2 generations. I have known in previous researchings that the witnesses can be parents of the married couple and in some cases siblings. In other cases it might be the best man or bridemaid which is slightly less helpful. I find that it is often good to use as many posible lines of enquiry as you can because one piece of data can help to collaborate other pieces of research and help to find other pieces of the family jigsaw. Good luck.

Witnesses are often relatives. When I got my great-grandparents' marriage cert I noted that their witnesses were a younger sister on either side - which as they had their maiden names confirmed that I needed to look for marriages/deaths for the sisters after that date, and also a man whose name sounded familiar, though he wasn't family. Going back over my records I found out that he had been staying with my great-grandfather when they were both schoolboys and they were obviously childhood friends. nell

Hi Corinna, I found on my G-Grandparents' marriage certificates certain names of witnesses. Out of curiosity, I put their names in Ancestry, being the nosey person I am, and it turned out that most of them were either female ancestors under their married names, or their spouses. Go for it! Glenys.

Hi Corrina The witnesses can be very useful, sometimes they are aunts or cousins who have married and have different surnames or perhaps it might be a brother-in-law but quite often you'll find that the parish clerk was a witness. Heather

hi does any one think it is worth tracing witnesses on a marriage cert in case there is a family connection or information that has been passed down? im at the brickwall stage at the moment and wondered if anyone had gone down this road? the marriage was in 1864, if this has any bearing corrina