Using likelihood as a tool :S

[Asa]

I've been looking at my ancestors from Branscombe in Devon and was delighted to discover that not only have the parish registers been transcribed but also the notes about the baptism and burial registers made by the Rev Thomas Puddicombe between 1786 and 1812.

These notes fill in some gaps but also have a wealth of additional information - eg 1788 "Abbot, Richard, fourth s. of William Abbot (only s. of William & Ann Abbot) & Charity his wife (second d. of Richard & Charity Wench)".

The last time I seriously looked at these my Branscombe ancestors was on the IGI on fiche and some of the assumptions I made were wrong (nothing major luckily)

What's surprised me is how often the most likely candidate isn't the right one. Traditional naming patterns are seldom used and names frequently being grabbed from nowhere, or nowhere apparent so that with so many Williams and Johns in the family it's not surprising I hadn't attached all the various cousins correctly.

Also a bride of 38 marrying a groom of 26 instead of an identically named niece of a more likely age while the girl I'd discounted as being too young in 1800 at 15 was the bride - and not even pregnant. I might not look at some of my trees with this new knowledge...

[ElizabethHerts]

Asa, I bet there were lots of intermarriages in Branscombe! I grew up in Honiton, and even in the 1950s there was a high level of intermarriage amongst the farming community. There were some farmers who hadn't travelled much further than the local market town.

Branscombe is a lovely village and I have many happy memories of my childhood and taking my own children there.

I'm pleased you were able to sort out your family. I do like helpful vicars/rectors/curates.

[Asa]

Yes - lots of intermarrying! I shall go there one day, Elizabeth

[Merry]

some of the assumptions I made were wrong

That reminds me of my Tyler tree in Oxfordshire.

I was looking at marriage entries and came across Mary Bloggs marrying John Tyler, both full age, just after a census year. I looked at the census a few moths before the marriage and found Miss Mary Bloggs living nextdoor to my John Tyler, both single and in theiir early 20's, both had the right father's names and occs. So I paired them up and that was that. Some years passed and the next census was released and I looked for my John, expecting him to be with his wife and probably a few children by then. But surprise, surprise, he was still at home with his aging parents and still single! It turned out Mary had married John Tyler's second cousin from Gloucestershire and had moved to Cheltenham about 40 miles away!

[Phoenix]

Trying to disentangle Lannings in Kington Magna is a nightmare - or it would be if there weren't wills and death duty registers leading to burial registers with ages at death. Every single public Ancestry tree has got its knickers in a twist, even if the ultimate gene stock is the same.

My placid assumptions about ancestors' lives are constantly being turned on their heads by new discoveries.

[Shona]

Charity Wench - what a tremendous name!

[Asa]

Merry I had that sort of thing - two similarly aged same named blokes both born in Bucks but one moved out of the town after 1841 and the other one moved in before 1851 :S

Is that what keeps it interesting, Phoenix lol

I was delighted to discover her, Shona

[Nell]

Asa

Well sometimes we have to proceed on assumptions until we can check against the original documents. I have recently had to reluctantly get rid of some of ex's supposed ancestors in favour of a far less likely candidate, once I'd checked the original parish register and found the baptism I'd been looking for for ages (in the wrong but more likely parish!).

I also had fun disentangling 2 Adam Dunts (cousins) both baptised in the same church within a year. But its sorted now. Think how dull our pastime would be if it was all plain sailing!

And, once we've found assumptions to be wrong, as you say, it encourages us to look anew at our trees and maybe advance them further.