To be fair, I wsn't actually using ThruLines® on this branch of my tree. Wiltshire, England has parish records aplenty and it's been relatively easy navigating this line. But it was nice to verify Ancestry's predictions through my 5th great-grandparents on this line were correct. And even more exciting to stretch beyond them.
I'm always in awe as I scroll through the dutifully recorded events from more than 250 years ago. It amazes me to see the original writings, carefully scanned and preserved for future generations. Ink dark in some places, yet almost unreadable in others. Some entries clearly written, others not so much, as perhaps the scribe tired of penning the events of the day. I'm glad the records have been so well preserved, and they've been made available to me without crossing an ocean.
I still have much more to uncover. I know Roger and Sarah were married (by license) on October 13th, 1757, but I don't yet have confirmed birth and death dates. I know they had a daughter Sarah Hart Gantlett (my 5th great-grandmother), but I also see some of their other children, both baptized and buried, in the records. I need to work slowly and add as many as I can find. I'll set aside time to review this particular record carefully, likely going page by page. It's only 68 pages, and in the past, I've found it can be well worth the time to review the entirety of the parish ledger.
One document I saw showed Roger's signature. It put to rest the question of Gauntlett (as quite a lot of records show) or Gantlett (how he signed his name). A quick look shows me I'll likely be able to add the names of both of their parents, but I don't want to rush. I want to take time to "get to know" Roger and Sarah first. To hopefully find his occupation, see how many children they had and how many they lost. I like to reflect on how their lives were so different than ours.
I only have 5 of my 6th great-grandparents identified thus far. Not accounting for possible (ok, likely) pedigree collapse, I only have 251 more to go!
Congrats on finding your English family. While I've also had some luck tracing English lines well back in time, it seems that the parish records are gone for many of the places where I suspect my brick walls lived.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly give voice to what I consider a truth: DNA is handy, DNA is nice, but verification the old-fashioned way by documenting events and relationships as thoroughly as possible is still the backbone of any family history. Good luck in investigating your 6th great-grandparents.
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