Geoffs Genealogy Update 14 May 2007

Monday May 14th, 2007 | Geoff

Once again I have spent most of my available time this week adding information to my family history database. I’ve been concentrating on adding the recently discovered Guyatt material, and have made good progress.

As a consequence of our recent visit to Buckinghamshire Records Office at Aylesbury I have obtained some more potentially exciting information regarding the family of Hannah Wright (c1789 – >1841), who married “my” John Guyatt at High Wycombe in 1817. The Bucks Family History Society has compiled a name index for the county. They have obviously carried out a very thorough trawl through the county’s records, and against the name of each individual appearing in the archives they have logged the detail gleaned from each record. The result is a fantastic research tool; with luck, you can go directly to the information you want.

I should add that this index is not complete yet, but it is very extensive and if you have Buckinghamshire ancestry you really must make use of it.

Anyway, from this index I have gained a series or references relating to what seems to be “my” Wright family. From this I learn that Hannah’s parents were probably Joseph Wright and Elizabeth Atkins, who married at West Wycombe on 8 July 1782. I have a list of what appear to have been Hannah’s siblings. there were nine of them, born between 1782 and 1810.

This brings me to one of my favourite “hobby horses” (sorry!). If you are interested in family history you really must make use of family history societies. Join them, and avail yourself of the wonderful finding aids that they have produced. Typically, you may find that the society local to your research has produced census indexes, parish register indexes, indexes to quarter sessions records etc. All societies that I know of have members’ interests database, and offer the opportunity for you to have your interests published in print or on the web – or both. Not only that, members will receive a society journal several times a year. This will contain a wealth of information – members’ articles about their research, notices, members’ interests and the like. As if that wasn’t enough, you also get the opportunity to attend meetings of the society (usually held monthly) where you can meet other members and exchange experiences and ideas.

I have visited my local LDS Family History Center, and ordered the parish registers for High Wycombe on three months loan. The film may take a while to come, but when it arrives I should be able to view the actual records relating to the baptisms of Hannah Wright and her siblings, and thus add still more information to my records.

That’s another facility you should make use of – your local LDS Family History Center. Your family history society will be able to tell you where your nearest one is, and how you can make use of it!

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