Missing child
Posted by Carla, Jun 20 2009, 01:34 PM
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Well it is a good job i have got some time off because i have been glued to this computer for a few days now. I should never have looked at the 1911 census! 
When the census came out first i had no trouble finding my grandmother's family in Wiltshire. After all the village of Alvediston was small and unusual enough for them all to still be there, and easily recognisable. Now my grandfather's family were another thing. For some reason it has taken me ages to find them. It didnt help that there were loads of 'Martin's' in London, many of them concentrated in the Mile End area! I wasted so much money by randomly clicking on names i thought would be my grandfather, or someone in his family, until i got really annoyed with the 1911 site and left it alone. Having a few weeks off has enabled me to go back with 'fresh eyes' and on a whim i simply put in thre initial of my grandfather rather than his whole name. I couldnt believe it when i found him almost straight away. I did a double check by typing in initials of the other family members and was able to pin point everyone. I have no idea why i didnt think of that first, but i suppose it was because all the other censuses used full christian names.
Anyway, interestingly enough i found out that seven children had been born alive but one had died. I never knew that and dont think my grandfather knew either, as no one has ever mentioned it. There is no easy way of finding this child. I have searched births and deaths in the area they lived in by the surname Martin, (have you any idea how many children died, let alone adults!), and am narrowing it down again by looking at the years between when the other children were born. I have even considered twins and that one died. Now i am concentrating my search on a four year gap between the last two children named on that census. All the other children, even after the 1911 census, were born roughly two years apart so maybe the missing child was born during that time? Short of sending away for certificates, or paying a researcher to look up records, i cant see any way of finding out who the parents were of any child that died in that time span.
If anyone has any ideas i would be greatful. I have posted a question in the forum but cant think what else to do.......
carla
Family tree addict!
Posted by Carla, Jun 18 2009, 01:12 PM
[font="Arial Black"][/font][color="#800080"][/color]It's been a long time since i have done a blog! Mind you it seems a long time since i took that first step into tracing my ancestors...
So why did i start? I suppose it was because my parents started to talk more about their lives and i found it fascinating. As i work full time it was easier for me to use the internet to hunt around in the beginning. Well, i will always remember the utter glee i felt when i found my first 'ancestor' in the 1901 census. I felt like shouting "hurray" out loud, and in fact i think i did, to my poor husbands' shock. It was much easier to follow the paternal line on my grandmother's side back, as the family lived in a very small village called Alvediston, in Wiltshire. In fact my ancestors hardly moved around much, except to a nearby village due to marriage or work. My paternal grandfather's line was initially hard to follow back as my grandfather didnt have much contact with his family, but with the help of some new found family members i have managed to go further back than i thought i could. On my mother's side it has been even harder as she is German. I dont speak German and the translation sites are a scream! Fortunately my maternal grandfather had already done some research so i was able to use that to help. 
I have to admit i was so excited in the beginning that i raced along without a thought, but now, a few years down the line, i am back tracking. Why, you may ask? Because i have learnt to check and check, and verify, and recheck everything, and not simply accept any information that is passed to me. I am in the process of gathering certificates to back up any details i have and that, along with the census information, should make an interesting and proven family tree for my children. 
To be honest i wish i had done a blog when i first started all this. It would have been interesting to see what i learnt as i gathered the information, and how frustrating it can get sometimes 
Anyway this blog will be like a diary for me......so watch this space!
Carla