Lucky?

Post by **Pandabean** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 11:49 am

I am at work and I just entered one of my ancestors names into Family Search.

Margaret Sneddon/Snaddon born around 1807

Guess what turns up.

An ancestral file that takes the line back to 1582.

Should I be wary when looking at ancestral files and are they trustworthy?

Post by **emanday** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:19 pm

I had much the same glorious find with one of my lot, Pandabean, and I was over the moon...

However (isn't there always a however or a but) although I printed it all out and kept it in mind, I continued my own research and soon realised that, while it all looked very much like my rellie, it wasn't.

I'm not saying discount it - please don't. Just keep an open mind about it and continue to do do you own research. I hope it is your Margaret [-o<

Post by **AndrewP** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:28 pm

Is there a submitters name attached to that Ancestral File? If so, it may be worth trying to make contact.

Or now that you have a potential tree stretching back that far, see if there is any of it that you can verify for yourself, in particular the link to your existing tree.

If you can verify the link and some or all of the Ancestral File, then great. If not, my own opinion is to keep the information on file as speculative so that if the other information becomes available to you at a later date you can confidently join it to your information. In the meantime I would keep it as a separate lot from your known and proven ancestors.

All the best,

AndrewP

Post by **Pandabean** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:36 pm

Looking at Margaret's death certificate her parents are James Sneddon and Elizabeth Paterson. However her age is slightly out she is 63 when she died in 1872.

On the marriage cert it says her father is James Sneddon.

In what ways can I verify that it is them?

Post by **joette** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:01 pm

It depends who did the research,how they did the research & where they did their research.If there are contact details on their I would strongly advise getting in touch with them.
As to how you prove it all less than easy.For an example I will give you a piece of research which has taken one of my lines back as far as 1700 with a fair degree of certainty.
My Grandmother's Father had an unusual surname & his side were in the main long lived & many of them made it from OPR to Stat Reg.They also lived in an area for most of their generations & it also had well kept Parish Records.They also in the main married & had their children christened,they were all literate as well.
Anyway I traced them back to William McKimmie & Elisabeth Carmicheal marrying in Bortrphinie,Banff 1796.Now William & Elisabeth survived to beyond 1855 & had moved to Aberdeen.She names her parents& husband on her Death Certificate & they are together in the 1851 Census with Bortrphinie as their birth-place.He is a widower & still in Aberdeen for the 1861(told you they were long-lived).He dies in 1862 & I gleefully turned to his Death Certificate for confirmation of his Parentage.He died in the Poorhouse & there are no parents named.
I thought well that's it all over then.Then I went to my FHC & looked at the OPR for Bortrphinie & went through them.There was a William's Birth right year-1776 & to William McKimmie & Isobel Dollas.How do I prove it though?Well a little luck came into play.My Granny's family had been the proud possessor of a family bible which my Granny's brother had burnt-"Who would want this rubbish" However my Granny had always been a keen reader of the pages & I remember her telling me that she had a Granny way back who was called Dallas(Ok it was when JR was shot).
So with a combination of MckImmie/Dollas/Dallas & Bortphinie I was able to accept them as parents & with the Death Certificate of a sibling I was 100% right.Then I went through the OPR again & there was a birth of another William to John Mckimmie& Ann Farqhuar-right place,right time.Now I cannot prove it with the same certainty but I am almost positive that they are his parents(same location within Borthriphinie for
three generations of WM McKimmies).
So check what you can,double check all sources & verify those sources,
then with a bit of luck & the wind in the right direction you will have found YOUR FAMILY
<duplicate post deleted, LesleyB>

Post by **SarahND** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:13 pm

Pandabean wrote: Margaret Sneddon/Snaddon born around 1807

Is she by any chance the one who married Peter Gillies in 1825 in Old Monkland? I just typed her into my database of Gillies-I-am-trying-to-sort-out...
Sarah

laineywoo · Post by **laineywoo** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:22 pm

Hi
Checking the wills can be a great source on the older folks. I got a pile of info from one today, which listed all the man concerned's dau and their spouses and also the region in which they lived.
Sneddon/Snadden/Snaddon are v commonly mixed up and I dont think you can take it as being one clear name for any family line, so also keep an eye out for them. Where did Margaret die? Her gravestone may give more info, and if you are lucky that of her parents
Lainey

Post by **Pandabean** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:13 am

My Margaret married William Greenlees in the 1830's if I remember right. (thats the trouble with not having data to hand).

As for the Wills, I have had no luck in finding any at all related to my direct line or sibilings of the direct line. Am I just being stupid and not looking properly?

As for the Grave, I know she died in Inveresk, Musselburgh.

Thanks Joette for sharing that.

TalkingScot.com

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