Brigidmac, thanks so much for all those tips, should keep me out of trouble for a while. I never thought to do Sarah Hammont's tree beyond looking for her death and, on finding no record of that, assuming she was still alive and the reason John and Mary J did not marry.
Is it possible to see images on private trees on Ancestry?
Thru Lines would be great if they came from accurate family trees. I know my own family tree must have mistakes in it, but years go by and you never get the chance / the time / a reason to go back with a magnifying glass to correct yourself.
The mess the enumerator made of the 1871 census for John & family is tattoo'd on my brain. Got the surname wrong, recorded John instead of Tom, Emily's age nonsensical (she was born in 1864, so would have been 7). I suppose two people with broad Westcountry accents were just too alien for him. Plus what we get is a copy of his original records, possibly done by candle-light in an East End slum. When you think about it, it's a miracle that so much of the various censuses is actually right.
I read your MCCAUGHTRIE & ROBERTS DNA thread and had to go and lie down in a darkened room.
I will keep going back to your suggestions in the coming days - thanks again
A xxx
