Research Before 1700's

[TIMBERLAKE]

Hi everyone,
I have had great success traceing my family line back as far as 1696. My query is, where do you go from there?, All the contacts that I have, who are researching the Timberlake line, stop at that date, William Timberlake, M Mary Dancer, of High Wycombe, Bucks.
Where do you look to find earlier information, I am very new to all this and since I am in Australia, most of my searching has to be on line.
I would be most grateful if some kind soul could point me in the right direction.
Thank you, Chris Timberlake.

[Cornish Maid]

This may not be much help, but have you tried A2A? This is the on=line index to Archives and where they are held. Its by no means complete but a fantastic site, even though its pretty tedious to search, it has, in my case anyway, yielded some fantastic results.

[Geoffers]

I have had great success traceing my family line back as far as 1696. My query is, where do you go from there?, All the contacts that I have, who are researching the Timberlake line, stop at that date, William Timberlake, M Mary Dancer, of High Wycombe, Bucks. Where do you look to find earlier information, I am very new to all this and since I am in Australia, most of my searching has to be on line.
The basic tools for tracing a family back in time are Parish Registers. Have you tried using them, or have you been relying on contacts who have provided you with the relevant information?

Survival of registers back into the 17th century can be patchy, especially around the time of the Commonwealth. If yours is one of the parishes with registers which have not survived from this time, then try the annual copy which was made and is known as either Archdeacon's or Bishop's Transcripts (usually abbreviated to AT or BT).

If your family seem to have just arrived in a parish and you don't know from where, then try searching the Hearth Tax Returns which began in the 1660's. Quite a few FHS have transcribed some of these, which would make your reseach easier if you are not used to the form of handwriting of this period. The Hearth Tax Returns act as a survey, showing where families lived at the time. If you find a cluster of entries with your name in an area, then it may be worth checking parish registers for that area.

Was your family wealthy enough to have left wills? These can be a good source of information and many counties have indexes of wills.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[Guy Etchells]

A quick look at Phillimore's Atlas & Index of Parish Registers shows that the High Wycombe registers start in 1610. If your ancestors are from there this could allow tracing early ancestors to around the late 16th century (1570s-1600s).
Registers in other parishes could go back even further to the first part of the 16th century.

Prior to the start of Parish Registers we need to undertake rather more detective work and accumulate evidence from numerous sources to develop the lineage.
This is done by using records such as
Feet of Fines (and recoveries) - 1180s onwards - courtmessage=A quick look at Phillimore's Atlas & Index of Parish Registers shows that the High Wycombe registers start in 1610. If your ancestors are from there this could allow tracing early ancestors to around the late 16th century (1570s-1600s).
Registers in other parishes could go back even further to the first part of the 16th century.

Prior to the start of Parish Registers we need to undertake rather more detective work and accumulate evidence from numerous sources to develop the lineage.
This is done by using records such as
Feet of Fines (and recoveries) - 1180s onwards - court records to determine ownership of land.
Wills & Inventories
Manor Court Rolls 14th century onwards
Inquisitions Post Mortem 13th - 17th centuries, Inquest into Crown tenants to determine heir.
Marriage settlements
Surveys - early census.
101 various taxes from hearth taxes to wig powder taxes (if it moved it was taxed, if it didn't move it was still taxed if born it was taxed and even if it died it was taxed.)
These are just a snippet of the many various documents available for medevial research.
Cheers
Guy

[Pam Downes]

101 various taxes from hearth taxes to wig powder taxes (if it moved it was taxed, if it didn't move it was still taxed if born it was taxed and even if it died it was taxed.)
These are just a snippet of the many various documents available for medevial research.

Guy
In 400 years' time Guy's descendants will be writing virtually word for word what he's just written. The only difference will be an extra nought in the number to make it 1001 :D

Pam Downes

[TIMBERLAKE]

Just a quick "thank you" to all you kind folk who posted replies to my query re researching the Timberlake line, pre 1700's. All your advice was most helpful to a beginer like myself. It's hard to know where to start when you are on the other side of the world, in Australia! Thanks again, Chris Timberlake.