Don’t Neglect Family History Societies
Family historians are occasionally unable to find a forebear in a census, yet have nailed them down in the previous and subsequent decennial collations. This can be due to poor indexing or barely legible writing by enumerators.
If you cannot find an elusive individual, seek help from your local family history society – after all, many heads make light work! English and Welsh societies are listed at familyhistoryfederation.com/ societies-az, while Scottish family historians can visit safhs.org.uk.
At Nuneaton & North Warwickshire Family History Society (NNWFHS) we ran regular helpdesks until Covid-19 struck, but now help with problem forebears by email and our new monthly newsletter. One lost ancestor was Edgar Samuel Jeremiah, born in 1895 and who later married with that name combination. In 1901 the family historian could not find him despite using every option for soundex and such.
The 1911 census provided a list of Edgar and his siblings, albeit poorly written. The team then searched on various given names without a surname, and found the family on the 1901 census as “Morgan”. Perhaps the enumerator asked for names, and his mother Maggie mistakenly replied with her
maiden surname, Morgan. The enumerator then ‘corrected’ her name from Maggie to Margaret!
NNWFHS covers the northern part of the old shire county, an area which experienced high levels of migration over centuries. We welcome all who live in the area regardless of where their research lies, along with those who are researching forebears who passed through the area. Find out more at nanwfhs.org. uk or visit facebook.com/nnwfhs. We also have a ‘shop’ and joining information on parishchest.com. Helpdesk team, NNWFHS
EDITOR REPLIES: Solving the mystery of Edgar Samuel Jeremiah must have been very satisfying, and it’s good to be reminded that the members of family history societies are out there willing to help, with years of experience between them. Joining a family history society is a great way to get more from your research.