Contoroversy about ancestors

[trish251]

I might mention my cousin's work on the family tree.
Though this  like the mobility of workers might be conveniently overlooked
She began working on the tree well before PC's started to be commonplace domestic appliances
Thus much of the data she obtained was 'offline'
I have understood her to be meticulous
Even acknowledging situations where lineage is to be queried
Thus I have seen no cause to question accuracy of her charts

My parents also did much family research before the advent of PCs (and they never did use a PC). Apart from very local information, they did most of their research via the LDS Family centres. The IGI existed long before it was available online. The LDS family centres had much information available for those of us living long distances from the original parishes or country records offices.

Have you actually ASKED your cousin if  she accessed the original parish records? Does her research document sources (much as I loved & respected my parents I have found many errors in their research when official registers were checked).  It is, of course, entirely your own affair how much research you wish to do, but my suggestion would be to check original parish records and/or  the official birth records for those children born after civil registration.

Good luck with it

Trish

[Valda]

Though I wouldn't say this is in anyway scientific proof, on the 1851 census there were 15 people with the surname Hammon(d) giving a birthplace of East Peckham. The oldest was 80 and the youngest 7. There was no-one with the surname Robertson (but then there was only one for Rochester, a 67 year old widow).
I suspect the IGI coverage of East Peckham registers may only begin in 1813. The source I was looking at on the IGI index was only from the Bishops Transcripts not the registers themselves, which might also account for the missing baptisms if the original registers have not been checked.

Regards

Valda