CASTLE corrections and collections
This last week has been filled with the distractions of another CASTLE line, the result of an accident …
Whilst browsing the Chartham parish registers on FindMyPast, I came across the marriage of my great-great-uncle, Stephen Leonard CASTLE, to a Minnie Harriet CASTLE (daughter of Francis CASTLE). The latter two individuals were new to me, and the marriage was ‘off-parish’ from where I expected. So, I started tracing Minnie’s line, suspecting a cousin relationship.
A can of worms started to open, resulting in multiple marriages, multiple occurrences of the name Francis, a major correction to my direct ancestry, and discovered errors in others’ online Ancestry trees!
You see, I have a death certificate for a Daniel CASTLE, who I believed to be my great-great-great grandfather. The certificate had margin corrections informed by Mary Ann CROUCHER, daughter. So naturally, I added her into the tree. What I had not taken care to notice is that she was born around 1835 (from 1861 Census), 15 years before my Daniel’s marriage to Eliza PAY, who would only have been 8 years old!
A search for ‘Daniel Castle’ between 1810 and 1820 on FamilySearch reveals FOUR births, none of them mine, and all in close vicinity within the Elham or Bridge registration districts!
As such, I have now traced Minnie’s line back to Richard CASTLE and Thomasin NEAMES, but got no further back on my direct line. I have not yet linked the two. Although, rather than my Daniel having died in 1898 (as believed from the certificate), I think he may have died in 1891. I need to get this certificate to confirm.
So, I now have three CASTLE lines on the go. A careful and messy spell of research awaits, and it probably involves good old pen and paper!
Take heed all those who are using CASTLE trees from Ancestry around the Stelling, Lower/Upper Hardres and Petham parishes. They probably contain mistakes!
