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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: goldie61 on Tuesday 21 August 18 08:46 BST (UK)
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After 40 years I finally solved one of my big brick walls!
Got 8 generations of yeoman farmers in and around Macclesfield in Cheshire only halted by my grandfather.
But I had never been able to find the births (or marriages) of my 7 and 8 x great grandfathers. William & Richard Lane. Burials, yes, wills, yes. Baptisms no.
Tried all sorts. Got lots of images of them having ‘leases for 3 lives’ from the Earls of Derby; images of them being ‘overseer for the poor’, ‘constable’; paying for their seats in the local chapel, etc - good, hardworking men, doing their best for their families and community.
1672 is the first dated piece of evidence where I can place Richard Lane in Macclesfield Forest - he takes a lease on 46 acres there.
But where did they come from? Admittedly the records back in the early 1600s are pretty sketchy for around there, so I thought that that was the end of the line for them.
A couple of weekends ago I went the Family History Expo in Auckland. In the Familysearch seminar, the very nice lady sped through the different ways to search on the fs site. I have used it extensively for searching not only people under ‘records’, but using their ‘catalogue’ to view all sorts of films not found on the usual search websites. I’ve looked at ‘family tree’ on there briefly, but not found anything relevant, (and in fact seen erroneous information).
BUT I thought I’d give it another go, and a hit came up for Richard Lane, with the name of a wife, AND the names of her parents! Wow! No sources quoted, No actual record of marriage, No person to contact - just ‘added by Familysearch’. How frustrating. Never ever taking anything at face value, I started to do some digging using the name suggested there. Took me quite a while, but eventually I found a will for the father of the wife which said in the middle ‘Richard Lane my son in law’! Got ya!!
(The very nice lady in the LDS Family History centre sang 'Hallelujah from Handel's Messiah for me I was so excitied!)
This turned out to be not in Cheshire, but in Staffordshire, about 18 miles away.
I’d looked at Staffordshire before of course, but Richard Lane is not an uncommon name there around the right time. Impossible to know which one would be the right one. Without the clue of the name of his wife, and getting to it that way, I would never been able to make the connection.
Now I have my Lane family rooted back another 3 generations, (not quite in the same village, but near by). Hooray!
So the moral of this story is:
a) Never give up, and b)use every avenue you can to try and find that missing clue - even if you didn’t really want to drive that 30 kms through the city to go and listen to somebody talking about something you thought you knew all about!
;D
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Congratulations! I think it is always good to read posts like yours which tell about the breakthrough of brick walls. I am so glad for you that your tenacity over 40 years has paid off.
I agree that we should never give up and to try each and every avenue. This approach has worked for me although admittedly I do still have brick walls in my family tree to solve. Your post definitely gives me hope, though. What a wonderful personal story of success! :D
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Well done.
I know as more info. goes online I have managed to sort out a couple of hurdles to help me.
Never give up, I put hurdles aside for a while before having another look. I always think - one day I'll sort it. Isn't that part of what makes genealogy so interesting?
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Hi Goldie61
I just want to add my congratulations. You deserve this success after all your perseverance.
(I wonder what people who 'get back to the 16th Century' in a few days online think when they read a post like yours!!).
Enjoy your sense of achievement.
Melbell
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Congratulations!
I never give up completely on my brick walls, just sometimes have to put them on the backburner for a bit, and hope that some new records become available that may break it down.
40 years is a long time!
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Fantastic well done you must be so thrilled :D
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Congratulation! Things do have a way of popping up.
Respectfully, Liam aka Bill
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Wow, you must be buzzing :)
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Brilliant
its all about perseverance
:)
xin
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Goldie
Great post. You've inspired me to carry on. I often feel like jacking it in with my brick-walls. Your post changed that.
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Well done - I was thrilled when I broke down one which was under a decade, you must be buzzing
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Well done its a great feeling when you break down these brick walls ;) ;)
Rosie
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Heartfelt congratulations.
I know how chuffed I was to break through a ten year old brick wall last year but can only guess at your delight at breaking one down after 40 years.
Keith
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Yesterday I did similar. English Bowes family from County Durham emigrated to Pennsylvania, USA. One boy, Robert Thomas Bowes born there. They returned to England and Robert is admitted to school with birthdate recorded. Now all I am missing is where in Pennsylvania is he is born. On ancestry found his father being naturalized within weeks of Robert's birth complete with family's address on Naturalization records.
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Thanks everyone for your kind replies.
Yes, I was really 'buzzing'! ;)
Yes Whitej, you should never give up completely. Just put it away on the back boiler for a while (not necessarily 40 years!), and come back to it from time to time, as I did. We never know what's out there.
I was reading somewhere the other day that one of the County Record Offices (can't remember which one it was, but I imagine they're all similar), had 3% of their records on line. 3%! SO much stuff still be discovered.
Happy hunting everyone! :)
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Congrats Goldie61.
It is just like winning the lottery when you break down a brickwall of just 3 or 4 years, let alone one as long as yours. 40 years.
Never give up.
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Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!! :) :D :)