12 January 2011

Lots More Marriage Records: Grice & Gib

I didn't intend to write a series, but here's another example (my first such post is here) of the need to use indexes, regardless of their format, only as finding aids leading to the original records.  Today's example is from  FamilySearch and its England Marriages, 1538-1973 database.

Index Results
Searching for a GRICE and GIB marriage, my 4th-great-grandparents, yields these two index results:

This one gives lots of info;  FHL film # 1,655,691 is cited.  The slight misspellings/transcription errors could be the first hint that something might be a tad askew....

The second search result gives less info, a bit of conflict in the location, and a marriage a day later:
It cites FHL # 990,896 as the source.  I really, really hope that anyone getting these search results takes the time to look at the source microfilms....

FamilySearch Issued a Warning
If you follow the links back from the image screens to those about the database itself, you arrive at the Wiki page for the English Vital Records Index.  It's a fairly detailed description of the record set.  The first section in this wiki is 'Known Issues with this Collection.'  I think FamilySearch made a good decision in making these records available online, even though they knew there were major problems. It's up to the genealogist to carefully evaluate any records and to do a thorough job before drawing conclusions.  In this case, the sources cited for my ancestors give a much more precise picture than the conflicting index entries.

Back to the Source
FHL film # 1,655,691 is Marriage Bonds,1806-1811 for the Church of England, Dean & Chapter of York.  The entire film is images of marriage allegations and marriage bonds.  The indexed "marriage date" of 17 October 1808 is really the date the allegation was made and the bond was pledged.  The "marriage location" was really the couple's cited residences at the time. Later in the bond, it says that John "prayed a License to Solemnize the said Marriage in the Chapel of Luttons Ambo."  It's good data to have, but it's no guarantee that a marriage ceremony occurred that day, if at all.

I was looking only in the Weaverthorpe area.  Without the FamilySearch index leading me to a film about the 'peculiar jurisdiction of the Dean & Chapter of York,' I am not confident that I ever would have found it on my own, even though I knew the jurisdiction existed.  I just wouldn't have looked for it.  This series of films begins with 1613-1704.  I wonder what treasures I could find if I look at more of them?!

and Back to the Other Source
FHL # 990,896 has Bishop's Transcripts: Item 1 for the Parish Church of Helperthorpe, 1631-1870; Item 3 for the nearby parish church of Weaverthorpe, 1631-1852.  The Helperthorpe item is much shorter and Helperthorpe residents all most exclusively.  The Weaverthorpe item includes residents of both areas and  seems to have all the burials for the area.    In Item 3, we find this record:
There are no page numbers -- just general chronological order.  The section is labeled Marriages 1808.  My photo is not that good, but the image was easy to read:
Octr 18th.  John Grice of this Parish, Widower, and Sarah Gib of the same Parish, Spinster, were married in Lutton Chapel by licence [sic]
In this case, the index seems to be accurate in giving October 18 as the marriage date and Weaverthorpe was the parish, but not the exact location.  A very small number of entries in this film specify Lutton Chapel as the location. 

Conclusions
  • New online databases are wonderful, but there are problems.
  • Not everything we need for better results in our research is online.  Microfilms still have great value.
  • Having been led to these films by the FamilySearch website and now having read the source films, I've found details of John's first marriage, discovered his probable parents, and found that Jane remarried after John's death.  That totally unexpected discovery even led to finding her in the 1841 census.  Thank you, FamilySearch!

07 January 2011

First Friday Folder: Cary & Godfrey

I'm backdating this post a bit, but I did start it before January's first Friday...!  These are two of my eighth-great-grandparents: John CARY and Elizabeth GODFREY.  I picked this folder for this month because I haven't worked on them for a very long time, no one in the line of descent has been a FirstFridayFolder yet, and the folder looked awfully large.  I was hoping there would be lots to weed out, leaving more room in the file drawer!

Organization
Yes, I hadn't studied this couple for a long time: the family group sheet was six years old!  There were several printouts from 2003 of online, unsourced family trees--clearly from my name collecting days--and I discarded them.  Yeah! The file drawer has a little more room!

Updates
I ran the Cary/Godfrey names in searches in the NEHGS databases, printed out a few sheets, and updated the sources in my database.  Darn, now the folder is back to the size it was before I started....

Planning
Reviewing my notes in the family group sheet, I see that there is a good deal of controversy/uncertainty about John Cary's ancestry and early years.  I checked the Great Migration series at NEHGS and see that there is still no Cary sketch.  I checked Hollick's (2006) New Englanders in the 1600s and recorded the sources for Cary in my To Do file.

I need to study more on the best or standard format for locations in the Massachusetts area in the 1600s.  Should I be using colony names?  What was Bridgewater part of in 1644?  It seems to me that there should be a published,  industry standard for all those early towns for specific date ranges.

Line of Descent
John Cary  =  Elizabeth Godfrey
Joseph Cary  =  Maretia Mercie Bushnell
Elizabeth Cary  =  Seth Palmer
Joseph Palmer  =  Abigail Lasell
Zenas Palmer  =  Lydia Marshall
Lydia Palmer  =  David Bascom
Hannah Field Bascom  =  Titus Davison
Clara Eveline Davidson  =  Celim Homer Porter
L Willis Porter