It's no wonder we can't find ancestors

[emeltee]

I have an ancestor, Joseph Seager, baptising sons in Kingswinford, Staffs in the early 1700s. According to the baptisms his wife is called Jane. After his death Probate was granted to his widow Jane and in Jane's Will she mentions her sons whose names fit with the baptisms. The problem arose when I looked for Joseph's marriage to Jane. The only marriage I could find which fitted date and place was to a woman called Ann. The same search also threw up the Marriage Bond and Licence. The Bond has him marrying a Sarah and the Licence has him marrying Jane.

I cannot find a baptism for Jane but in her Will she mentioned a sister Esther. I found a baptism for Esther and also the Will of her parents in which they mention Jane using her married name so I am 100% certain I have the right families. I just don't understand why the three different Christian names on the three documents.

If the Powers that Be can't get it right how are we supposed to find anyone.

 

[p.risboy]

Sarah Ann Jane........??...and variations.!

My Gt Granny........Sarah Angelina Ruth Allen. What a waste of names. Always went by Ruth Allen. But can I find a death...no way jose'.

//

 

[emeltee]

I don't think she was baptised with all three names. They only ever seem to have the one name in the 1690s. She was born in Dudley (I think) c1694, parents William and Beatrice Rollinson but I haven't found a baptism using any one of the three names.

 

[p.risboy]

There is one in Dudley for a Jane, to Enoch c1696, and another to John c1699.......Ancestry Transcripts.

Name: Rolinson
Gender: Female
Baptism Date: 30 Jul 1699
Baptism Place: Saint Thomas,Dudley,Worcester,England
Father: John Rolinson
Mother: Mary

Name: Jane Rolinson
Gender: Female
Baptism Date: 18 Jul 1697
Baptism Place: Saint Thomas,Dudley,Worcester,England
Father: Enoch Rolinson
Mother: Amy

A bit of a wild card.......

Name: Jane Rolison
Gender: Female
Baptism Date: 17 Feb 1689
Baptism Place: Alvechurch,Worcester,England
Father: William Rolison
Mother: Jane

 

[emeltee]

Thanks Steve. I'd found the first two baptisms with fathers Enoch and John but neither are correct as her parents were definitely William and Beatrice. They made a joint Will in which they mention their daughter Jane Seager.

 

[benny1982]

My great, great gran Mary Ann Katherine Coombs (Nee Roberts) used Kate, Catherine and Mary. WHen she married, she omitted her full name and just gave Kate Roberts in 1886 instead of her full name. And her dad Thomas Roberts had John as a middle name, which the sod rarely used, thus making it harder to trace him.

 

[emeltee]

The ancestors certainly don't make it easy for us to find them.

 

[p.risboy]

I think I've said this a hundred times..........I'm always amazed that so much of these records still exist, with all the turmoil over hundreds of years, like wars, floods, fires, lost, rats, mice and natural decay.

It's always unfortunate that the bits we require went by the wayside. But that's the way Family History gets you. You cruise along........then BANG. Nothing, zilch, nada, zero.

//

 

[emeltee]

I wholeheartedly agree, Steve. We are lucky that so much has survived the ravages of time etc and my grateful thanks go to all the people who have worked hard to get so much on line for us. However it ain't half frustrating when, no matter how hard you try, certain ancestors just cannot be found.

 

[Ladybird1300]

I sympathise with all the above, how many times have I found births with the mother's first name and spent all my time looking for a marriage only to find the groom has the correct name but I can't find the mother of the children, one marriage but wrong first name. Does this mean all the children are illegitimate?? Or did they record the wife wrong?? Frustration!!!

Amanda

 

[ptjw7]

Looking at Essex parish records just what did some of the Vicars use to write with!
A spider in ink could do better
then others the writing is like printing - very very legible!

peter

 

[emeltee]

A bit likr Census Enumerators - I'm sure poor handwriting was a qualification for getting the job. Thankfully a few literate ones slipped through the net.

 

[benny1982]

It is like when you find a new database of records of certain occupations which an ancestor was involved in, but you cannot find him listed, and you have tried all variants under the sun. Maybe making you think they were a Del Boy type, unlicensed. I have a waterman ancestor whose apprentice records I cannot find.