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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: terryf2010 on Tuesday 03 December 19 15:45 GMT (UK)
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Hi,
Sorry to bother everyone but I am stuck on my family tree and unsure which path to follow?
My predicament starts with ROBERT FERGUSON born 1786 in Longnewton who was married to Ann Dryden.
The help I need is who his correct father is? He is in tons family trees on ancestry and there are differing accounts of his father.
The most common path from most on ancestry is that his parents where John Ferguson 1749 (no proof or records) born in Egglescliffe and his mother was Margaret Hutton from Egglescliffe. Howver there is no records or proof of this. I have found a birth index which states his parents where John Ferguson and Margaret but thats were i run dry. Someone once informed me his father was john ferguson from stokesley 1759 and i based my investigations from him for years however i am not sure anymore as once again there is no proof i can find of this. Alot of others have made real progress and gone back quite far on from this Robert Ferguson from Longnewton 1786 but i want to make sure i have it correct and not just follow others without any proof or records etc.
I was wondering if somebody could help me out on which path is correct or if I could find out anything more myself from somewhere ie records etc? Any tips or advice? Or possibly someone knows for definate who his father was who is reading this from there own tree etc
If anyone could be of a help that would be much appreciated as ive been stuck here for years
Thankyou
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Commonality on Ancestry should not be one of your choices. You should be looking for certifiable proof, not the tree which has been copied the most. Read about the genealogical proof standard.
Martin
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As Martin says although there are some extremely well researched trees on Ancestry there is also a lot of dross.
Look at the trees you have found check their sources (you may find the group of three have copied each other and cited each other as a source - it happens but it isn't good research)
Once you have isolated the sources check to find independant verification of the data
You may have to follow a few trails to dead ends (no pun intended) to eliminate them from your research but it is all part and parcel of what we do.
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Just checking [as you have asked how to use ancestry trees to decide which path to follow] you have used documentary evidence back from yourself and NOT ancestry trees to conclude John Ferguson 1749 is part of your tree?
So I agree with Martin & Falkryn about the way forward, as long as the way to this point is verifiable.
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Hi thankyou all for your help. Its much appreciated.
Yes i have used documented proof up to Robert Ferguson 1786
Thanks again
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Maybe start by looking to see if there are any other more feasible alternatives than those that the others have found. Sometimes people miss the obvious because they get sidetracked into comparison with other trees.
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Not a clincher by any means but you could try looking for a naming pattern with different sets of parents.
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How do you know that he was born in Egglescliffe in 1749?
Bev
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Have you a copy of the actual entry for Robert’s baptism and his marriage? If not I would get these as there may be additional information not given on a transcript.
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Always work backwards from what you know and can prove to be true.
There are many honest mistakes on Ancestry trees - I made one myself, nearly, once, as everything seemed to "fit" so well, but there are also ... well, fantasists, who grab anything that leads further back and / or to nobility, no matter how tenuous the link! ("born in the same county, different job, wife and family - only 18 years out in age, must be the right chap...")
You've been given fine advice here, it's the only way.
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Have you a copy of the actual entry for Robert’s baptism and his marriage? If not I would get these as there may be additional information not given on a transcript.
Hi, thanks for the message.
I have managed to find the attached. They are indexes rather than certificates so dont have much more information on them. Would i be able to purchase a certificate from this information? Or is it too old to do this?
Many thanks again for your messages and help.
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This date is way too early for a civil 'certificate' of birth. The only record at that time would be the Parish Baptism Register
If you sign into Family Search (account is free) and choose to search the catalogue, then put 91100 into the film/fiche number search, you'll see that this record is from the Bishop's Transcript for Long Newton Parish.
FS do have digital images of this register, but they are only viewable if you visit an LDS family history centre.
https://www.familysearch.org/locations/
The records for this parish don't yet seem to be in Free Reg.
Durham Records Online (pay per view, you'd need to purchase credits to see the full entry) have this baptism in their database, they are transcriptions not images but they do transcribe the record in full so all the info available will be in the transcription.
Durham Record Office (Durham Archives) have the original registers. If you live in the area you can visit and see the images on microfilm or they do a quick search service where they will provide an image by email (costs £5) of the entry in the parish register. The entry may or may not give any further information - it varies.
http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/18496/Apply-for-Quick-Search
Boo
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Brilliant thankyou very much for your help
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you are welcome.
I should have mentioned that civil registration (GRO 'certificates' for BMD) didn't start in England and Wales till July 1837 - and even then in the early years not all births were registered. So for any time prior to that the Parish Registers are the only option.
Boo
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I would check the original record of the 1810 baptism. Some parishes in County Durham had the equivalent of the Yorkshire Dade records (can't remember what they are called and not sure which parishes in Durham but you could check). If the baptism record is one of those it should give quite a lot of family information.
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This date is way too early for a civil 'certificate' of birth. The only record at that time would be the Parish Baptism Register
If you sign into Family Search (account is free) and choose to search the catalogue, then put 91100 into the film/fiche number search, you'll see that this record is from the Bishop's Transcript for Long Newton Parish.
FS do have digital images of this register, but they are only viewable if you visit an LDS family history centre.
https://www.familysearch.org/locations/
The records for this parish don't yet seem to be in Free Reg.
Durham Records Online (pay per view, you'd need to purchase credits to see the full entry) have this baptism in their database, they are transcriptions not images but they do transcribe the record in full so all the info available will be in the transcription.
Durham Record Office (Durham Archives) have the original registers. If you live in the area you can visit and see the images on microfilm or they do a quick search service where they will provide an image by email (costs £5) of the entry in the parish register. The entry may or may not give any further information - it varies.
http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/18496/Apply-for-Quick-Search
Boo
Thanks again for your help. I ordered a copy of the baptism records from durham records online and i recieved the follwing :
Baptisms, Stockton District
Record Number: 690873.0
Location: Long Newton
Church: St. Mary
Denomination: Anglican
13 Aug 1786 Robert Ferguson, born 21-Jun 1786, son of John Ferguson (farmer) & Margaret (his wife)
It would have been nice to find out where John Ferguson would have been from? or Margarets surname, or some more help on information. Do you think this was all the information that was provided on the record at the time?
Thanks again for your time and help its much appreciated
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[quote author=terryf2010 link=topic=822344.msg6854936#msg6854936 date=1575927520
It would have been nice to find out where John Ferguson would have been from? or Margarets surname, or some more help on information. Do you think this was all the information that was provided on the record at the time?
[/quote]
In Durham the years where registers were required to have the extra info that snowqueen mentioned were later than this time frame.
http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/10576/Baptisms-and-burials-1798-1812
That page explains about it.
Durham Records Online say that the transcriptions for this parish are:
Baptisms & burials are from a combination of the Bishop's Transcript & the parish register, for maximum detail. There were no marriages at Long Newton in 1807 because the parish church was being rebuilt; marriages in that year were celebrated at Elton, Sadberge, or Egglescliffe. Burials after 1841 are solely from the parish register.
So I'd guess (but can't know for certain without seeing the original register) that the transcript has been done from the BT and then checked against the PR and if there is any further info it would be included in the transcription.
You mentioned Egglescliffe, there is a marriage in Egglescliffe 10 Dec 1782 for a John Ferguson and Margaret Hutton
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C952-CQMD-5?i=40&cat=1827368
and a baptism (on the same page) for a Margaret Ferguson daughter of John and Margaret Ferguson on 28th May 1782. Sadly on the next page it shows that this wee one was buried on 29th May 1783.
Only you can decide but I'd say the marriage is highly likely to be the same people who had the child baptised. That is from the BTs - not the actual register.
Durham Records online have the transcription and they have the names of the witnesses for the marriage and that both parties were 'Of this Parish' - so that entry must be transcribed from the Parish Register. The transcription of the baptism also shows more info than is in the BT as it gives John's occupation as farmer
I can see no other baptisms for a child of this couple in Egglescliffe.
But Durham Records Online have 4 baptisms in Long Newton for children with parents John Ferguson, a farmer, and Margaret (no maiden surname mentioned)
Mary 1784
Robert 1786
William 1789
John 1792
So it is a plausible scenario that John Ferguson married Margaret Hutton in Egglescliffe , had a daughter born and died there, then moved (not far) to Long Newton and had four more children.
Proving it with a paper trail (as you already know) is difficult. No matter how much we'd like it, the records are often lacking the information we want, can't do much about that over 200 years later :-)
- though IF there are wills for either of the parents or possible previous generations you may get lucky and find a mention of something that would lend more weight to the theory. Other parish chest records (poor law etc) may have something but that's a long shot.
Wills are online http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei/data/intro.php, parish chest records 'may' be on Family Search and viewable either at home or at an LDS FHC otherwise you'd need to go to the archives. It would take a long time, lots of reading and still not turn anything up.
I know how frustrating it is, I've spent years looking for that tiny snippet I need to confirm/deny a possible scenario - and am still looking. It may yet turn up ! :-)
Boo