It was right under my nose all the time....

[MythicalMarian]

Since 1985 I must have gone through Cheadle St. Mary's PRs at Manchester LIbrary, and the BTs at Chester more than 100 times. So many of my lines keep ending up back in the area. I've sworn that when Manchester Library opens again I shall just go once a week and start transcribing the darn things to keep on my hard drive!

Well, wouldn't you know it. I have never been able to find the marriage of my 3xgreat grandparents William Turner and Mary Ann Taylor (between about 1828 and 1831). Both were Denton folk but Denton St. Lawrence had no marriage licence for the period in question, so I'd looked through every parish within a 2/3 mile radius - all to no avail - even Stockport, St. Mary.

Tonight, on spec, I just nipped on Family Search and keyed in William Turner, the possible date range for his marriage, and just 'Mary Ann' without a Taylor, thinking she had perhaps been born under another name, or something. I was desperate.

I think you can guess what's coming: 'Bishop Transcripts collection for Cheshire' 21 February 1830, Cheadle St. Mary, William Turner married Mary Ann Taylor. So it's back to my favourite PRs yet again to check an entry. I never even thought to look at Cheadle for my mother's side of the family, as it has always been a big paternal cache for me, but it's still within a 5 mile radius of Denton!

Just another little brick completed. It wasn't a huge deal - I have William's parents and his own children, censuses, certificates, the lot, but it was certainly very satisfying to find what looks like the marriage. The pair of 'em would have been 21, and first baby came in late September that year.

I must also say that these BTs for Cheshire must be a new collection on Family Search, because under the old FS I'd searched for William and Mary Ann umpteen times on the IGI - it only ever came up with a marriage down in Worcester, which I knew was highly unlikely. Not that this stopped a cousin of mine adding this Midlands marriage to her tree, despite my warnings.

I can just hear William chuckling now - 'Ee, lass - I were in Cheadle all't time!' Cheers for that, William.

[jac65]

Hi

The Cheshire Parish Registers and a number of other Cheshire databases are now on Familysearch. If you scroll down the Familysearch homepage and select United Kingdom and Ireland you will find a list of Record Collections. Most were not on the former IGI. It is well worth checking regularly to see what has been added.

Images of some of the Cheshire databases, including Cheshire Parish Registers, are now on Findmypast.

Andy

[Waitabit]

Isn't it great? with more & more volunteers transcribing & companies aquiring records, more & more become available.

I could never find my GG G'Parents marriage in L'pool in early years of looking but it was eventually added by a relative or some one. Appeared in St.Peters Parish records tho' just a badly blurred page.

[Ken_R]

FS had a 'push' with Lancashire records some months ago. Yes. I know the Chesire/Lancashire boundary has moved a few times and I am not entirely sure which criteria they use.

If you want to know what areas FS are currently 'pushing' in the UK, simply register as an Indexer. It doesn't mean you have to do anything. Simply register. Looking now, they are doing Derbyshire, Dorset, Sussex and, what has appeared since I last looked, Lancashire again.

I have 'issues' with FS Indexing, the majority of which I will not seek to bore people with except to point out that when I check a Lancashire image against LancsOPC, it often has already been Transcribed. Where is the logic of asking volunteers to Index what has already been Transcribed to a high standard?

That said, the one that I have just pulled up, Preston 1854, isn't on LancsOPC. Perhaps I might even do it.

And I wasn't impressed when they were allocating images to Indexers for a UK census (1871 I think) which was being done, I believe, on behalf of the Pay to View site, FMP.

Don't start me off.....................