Where should I go?

[lesleyl]

Can anybody tell me where I can look/go to establish the authenticity of several LDS entries for my family.

My 3x great grandfather William Burchnell, born Holbeach Drove, Lincs 1770 to parents John/Joseph Burchnell/Burchwell and Ruth Widdison (accordingly to IGI on LDS).

In a time before censuses and civil registration where can I go to establish that William's parents are as per LDS. John/Joseph is down as being born c1723 in Wisbech, likewise Ruth and their marriage in 1748 is listed as St Marys, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

On a visit to Lincs Archives I had some trouble with parish records and found the BT's had more info. What other sources are there to establish the exact names for the marriage and any subsequent children. I think apart from William there are two more Ruth and Richard, both born in Holbeach Drove.

How does anyone get back further in their family history than when civil reg and censuses started. Isn't it all conjecture? Help please please please.

[lesleyl]

Sorry should have been Whaplode Drove

[Jan1954]

Our sponsors, Parish Chest (http://www.parishchest.com/shop/index.php?cmd=viewproduct&cat=&id=P87265&pageOffset=0), has the East Elloe Deanery Baptisms and Burials 1754-1812 available, which covers Whaplode Drove.

Wisbech St Mary's (http://www.parishchest.com/shop/index.php?cmd=viewproduct&cat=&id=P87554&pageOffset=3)are also available

[lesleyl]

Jan

Thanks - clicked on link for Wisbech and transcription from 1851 - too late for the marriage in 1748.

Lesley

[Jan1954]

Sorry Lesley - I transferred the wrong one. :blush5:

However, this one (http://www.parishchest.com/shop/index.php?cmd=viewproduct&cat=&id=P88552&pageOffset=3) is from 1557 to 1950

[Pam Downes]

Admittedly I am biased, but I would always recommend buying any indexes published by Lincolnshire FHS that are relevant to your area of research, so see Jan's link. (I consider them extremely cost-effective.)
In the case of Whaplode Drove/Holbeach the CD covers the whole of the East Elloe (http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Deans/east_elloe.html) deanery, so it's a matter of seconds to check all the Burchnell + variant spellings in the PRs and the BTs for all the parishes in that deanery for baptisms and burials 1754-1812.


John/Joseph is down as being born c1723 in Wisbech, likewise Ruth and their marriage in 1748 is listed as St Marys, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
I have serious doubts about that John and Ruth being the parents of William. Check out the birth years of John and Ruth, and do the maths. Not impossible, but I would have thought highly unlikely for those days. You also need to note that the Wisbech marriage for John and Ruth is a submitted entry.
Alternatively, John Burchnell did marry Ruth Widdison, and they are the parents of William born 1770, but they didn't marry in 1748 and they weren't born in 1723. :smile5:

John and Ruth could certainly have moved to Whaplode Drove as opposed to being there, as there is no John and Ruth marriage listed in the 'old' marriage index 1700-1837 for East Elloe deanery. (The index has recently been re-checked, and is now issued on CD (http://www.parishchest.com/shop/index.php?cmd=viewproduct&cat=&id=P87806&pageOffset=1). The CD also includes the 'neighbouring' deaneries of West Elloe, and East and West Holland)
Pam

[janbooth]

There are no baptisms on the Cambridgeshire FHS Baptismal Index for either John BURCHNELL (and variants) or Ruth WIDDISON (and variants) for the dates you are interested in. There is an Ann BURCHNELL baptised at Wisbech St Peter in 1750 plus a Leah in 1752 and a Sarah in 1756 at Wisbech St Mary. There is a John BURCHNELL baptised 1771 at Parson Drove and a Joseph baptised there in 1778 but that's it I'm afraid.

Janet

[Pam Downes]

John and Ruth could certainly have moved to Whaplode Drove as opposed to being there, as there is no John and Ruth marriage listed in the 'old' marriage index 1700-1837 for East Elloe deanery. (The index has recently been re-checked, and is now issued on CD (http://www.parishchest.com/shop/index.php?cmd=viewproduct&cat=&id=P87806&pageOffset=1). The CD also includes the 'neighbouring' deaneries of West Elloe, and East and West Holland)
Pam
|doh| So much for me checking my posts before I press 'submit'.
The bolde-ed bit should have read 'as opposed to being born there'.
The reference to the 'old' marriage index is the one that was published many moons ago on floppy disk and fiche. The new index on CD is the same index, but all of the entries have been re-checked.
(As a load of my rellies come from that area I must get that CD myself after the bank manager has recovered from the shock of the GRO certificates I want before the price goes up!)
Pam

[lesleyl]

Thanks for your replies. I am not sure I understand the 'submitted' bit on LDS. Are you saying I should ignore the entry?

The The East Elloe baptisms and burials and marriages CDs for seem like the ones to buy. I had done the maths and I suppose it was a bit of a stretch but Joseph and Ruth are recurring family names so I was hoping that I was cracked it. No such luck.

When are the certs going up and to what?


Lesley

[Chipp'n'Dale]

Thanks for your replies. I am not sure I understand the 'submitted' bit on LDS. Are you saying I should ignore the entry?
In simple terms, entries on the IGI can be either extracted or submitted.
Extracted means they are taken directly from the parish registers. They are therefore quite reliable. As with all transcriptions, the general advice would be to still take a look at the original records where possible, as errors in transcriptions can (and do) happen - just look at A******* !!!
Submitted records are where members of the Morman church send in their research. Now some are very thorough with their checking, some are less so. It's a bit of pot luck. The advice often seen is "use submitted records as a suggestion or a finding aid" and do not take it on face value.


When are the certs going up and to what?
In April. For those ordered with GRO Ref which are currently £7, they will be £9.25. Sounds a lot, but they haven't changed price since 2003. The other pricing options have also changed. Check out the GRO site for full details.

Both of these topics have dedicated threads with far more info than I've given, so worth a search.