Tree status as at 14 Jan 2013: Individuals=4066 Families=1091
Latest tree updates:
Blog=27 Jan 2011, GenesReunited=27 Jan 2011
AncestralAtlas=23 Jan 2010, Ancestry=28 Jan 2011

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!

Published in: Genealogy | on June 27th, 2013 | No Comments »

Email migration loses some …

Due to an email migration, I have irritatingly lost a substantial number of genealogy emails; something I had hoped would not happen….

Any of you loyal followers who have been waiting on a response from me relating to previously sent emails, however old, please contact me again. These particluarly relate to surnames CLARK(E), BALDOCK, FAGG, CASTLE, SMALL …

I am so annoyed with myself! That’s what I get for rushing in frustration at poor email provision by my ISP!

Published in: Genealogy | on December 14th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

For BURROWS read BARROWS …

I have believed for quite a while that my great-great grandmother was Louisa BURROWS; I have a copy of her marriage certificate to my great-great-grandfather, Stephen CASTLE, and she was indexed as BURROWS. Her certificate is ambiguous – the ‘u’ in BURROWS could be an unclosed ‘a’. Yet I was not able to trace a birth record. I recently revisited this predicament, and believe I have solved it.

I took a pot luck and did a wildcard search online for Louisa B*RROWS, and struck gold. Various sources indicate Louisa BARROWS was born Q3 1852 in Stelling Minnis, and appears to be the daughter of George BARROWS and Mary SUTTON. This fits well, since a witness at Louisa’s wedding was one Jane SUTTON, possibly a cousin or aunt (yet to be determined). In 1861, Louisa was at the home of her SUTTON grandparents, but in 1871 was at her parents’ home, along with her grandfather, Henry BARROWS.

Marriage certificate of Louisa BARROWS

I can finally trace further back on my mother’s line …

Published in: Genealogy | on July 20th, 2010 | No Comments »