Fresh Eyes for Problematic Ancestors
In ‘Smash Through Your Brick Walls Part 2’ Mary tackles common issues such as; locating places where births or baptism took place and reconciling these to Census entries; how occupational information can be both helpful and misleading; relationships that are not all they outwardly appear to be; and the fact that our ancestors were quite capable of ‘manipulating’ the truth!
The course is made up of four bitesize videos of no more than ten minutes each – just the right length to watch during a break for a cuppa. What they are not are in-depth discussions and I daresay an awful lot more could be said about the foibles of the records and historical recording systems. The intention of the course, however, is not to provide the solutions to every scenario that may arise during the course of your research, but rather to encourage lateral thought and apply it to the sticking points in your own family tree. Mary encourages caution in taking document contents at face value and suggests asking ‘what if?’, or ‘why?’ and to think outside the box.
The course is very much aimed at beginners and only tackles a few scenarios that may be encountered within the English and Welsh records in the post-civil and statutory registration periods. Whilst jumping into Part Two does not present a problem, references are made to examples discussed in Part One, which would suggest the courses naturally progress from Parts One through to Three.
The bonus content of ‘7 Steps for breaking Brick Walls’ by Chris Paton is available to download on completion of Part Two – on that I have only one thing to say: read it!