Are you sure that "find" is really your ancestor?

Many beginners, when researching their family tree, find a name and approximate date which seems to fit and assume that they have found their ancestor - and stop looking. A recent inquiry relating to someone called William Howard turned up the following entries in the Hemel Hempstead baptismal register which clearly demonstrates why you have to be careful:

It shows that two different babies called William Howard, with different fathers also called William Howard, were baptised in the same church 8 days apart ....

For many more similar examples see 

Right Name, Wrong Body

Are there hidden gaps in parish registers?

Help Desk

Colin's question about the birth places of the Rev. Thomas Charles Hose looked straightforward enough - but when answering a question other unexpected issues come up.

 On the 1st November 1866 Thomas baptised his son Arthur at Little Wymondley and the entry in the register is followed by the words:  

I, Thomas Charles Hose, Incumbent of Little Wymondley certify that the above is a true copy of the Register of Baptisms solemnized in the parish of Little Wymondley during the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty six.

Witnessed my hand this 12 day of July 1867

J.C. Hose 12/7/67

So what was going on? The register was meant to be the master record of baptisms in the church - so why is this "a true copy of the Register of Baptisms" ??? The most likely explanation is that Thomas had been keeping a private register rather than enter the baptisms directly into the official register, and had, in July 1867, copied the entries over.

This raises a possible source of error in baptismal (and burial registers). When a wedding was held (at least after the Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753) the register had to be filled in at the time because the register needed to be signed by the couple and witnesses. The register is not needed at a baptism or burial service, but is completed afterwards. Not only could the minister forget to record it - but it seems that a number of ministers wanted the registers to look neat and tidy and wrote the details in a private notebook and entered a whole batch of entries at one time. This practice opened the possibility of all kinds of additional errors and omissions - especially when the minister died before he could update the register.

Little Wymondley

In the case of Little Wymondley the patronage arrangements had changed in 1863 and prior to this date there may have been an unofficial parallel register. (Further investigation is needed as while FindMyPast shows individual pages of the register it does not allow scrolling through for unusual entries or patterns of entry.)

For more information - including details of Thomas Charles Hose and his family - READ ON ...

Adult Baptism, Confirmation & Holy Commumion

Tring

It is important to remember that not all Church of England baptisms were infant baptisms as this interesting document shows. Doris Sutherland Thomas was born in 1891 but was not baptised until four days before she was confirmed by the Bishop of Barking in 1910. She lived at the Mill House, Brook Street, Tring.

On the main web site (Walter Thomas, Mill House, Tring)  I have posted some information about the house and her family.

Silk Mills

Walter Thomas was born in the Scilly Islands, the son of a shipwright, and he became a marine engineer in Kent. Meanwhile Lord Rothschild was making changes in Tring and closed the Silk Mill - converting it to become his estate management department. He employed Walter Thomas as an engineer, who was responsible for supply electricity to Tring Park and became estate engineer.

Hertfordshire Parish Registers now online

Parish Registers

Findmypast.co.uk has published online Hertfordshire records dating from 1538:

• Baptisms 803,133 records for the period 1538-1910 – see a list of parishes and dates covered (PDF)
• Banns 164,314 records for the period 1653-1928 – see a list of parishes and dates covered (PDF)
• Marriages 297,962 records for the period 1538-1928 – see a list of parishes and dates covered (PDF)
• Burials 605,940 records for the period 1538-1990 – see a list of parishes and dates covered (PDF)

Jolly good as far as it goes - as we have been waiting for this for over a year - but when I checked my Aunt's baptism in 1895 I found a bad transcription error - a very clear "Finch" was indexed "Frank" - and, unlike the census returns, FindMyPast has provided no way of submitting amendments. 

I also found that for the parish I am most interested in, Sandridge, the amount covered is very limited - Baptisms 1898-1910; Banns 1824-1928; Marriages 1898-1901; Burials None. Other parishes seem better.

Interestingly if you select a Sandridge baptism for 1910 and view the register pages - you can scroll forward into 1911 and perhaps beyond but these are not indexed. In fact the software tells you that the baptism after 1910 for Sandridge is not found without telling you this is because it is not indexed.

I don't have time to do a detailed survey at present so if you try the new records why not add a comment below as to what you find to help other people find their way round the new facility.