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How have I conducted the Research? I tried as much as possible to use primary sources. Where I consulted secondary or tertiary I attempted to cross check these with primary sources in order to eliminate as far as possible the errors inherent in non-primary sources. Primary sources The most obvious primary source is personal contact with a person who forms part of your research. Generally speaking, no one knows more about his own life than that person. Obviously the value of such contact depends on the honesty of the subject. Apart from people currently living, the principal primary source is original records such as:
BMD’s Government registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales began in 1837. As might be expected, a new and different system on such a scale did not leap instantaneously into place in perfect order; there are certain to be here and there events that were not registered. The information recorded on the certificates may also be imperfect. It is quite common for ages at death to be incorrect, for if a person lived alone or died when not at home who was there to provide the right age? If a person lived to a great age and, possibly, outlived his own children, there is also a considerable chance of an estimate being entered; how many people who are not genealogists actually know the age of their grandparents? Marriage certificates also sometimes present problems. Quite apart from the frustrating and coy “of full age” which was popular for a time, ages at marriage can sometimes be given wrongly to conceal, perhaps, absence of parental consent. Addresses of the two parties are sometimes shown to be identical. This may be factual or it may be a device to avoid the requirement for banns in the parishes of each party (with the attendant costs). There is room for error in occupations. I have seen the father of the bridegroom described as a “gentleman” when he was in fact a retired tradesman; this at a time when the term gentleman conveyed a specific station in society and was not merely a term of politeness. This is by no means a full account of everything that can be wrong on registration certificates but merely a list of some of the most common. Census Records These are also prone to various inaccuracies, most due to slackness in completion of the returns. Typical are instances where the places of birth are simply given as the town of residence at the time of the census when, in fact, that was not the case. Alternatively, the birthplace of all the children may be entered as the same when some were actually born in one place and the remainder in another. Another frustration is when the inhabitants are listed by their initials alone, so rendering the census in most cases useless for genealogists. This is more common in institutions but can also occur with ordinary residences. Parish Registers One might think that these were the most basic and therefore most impeccable source, yet errors of various sorts do also occur here. I once saw one huge marginal entry (nothing to do with the Binsteads, incidentally), which drew my attention. The nub of the matter was that the boy who had been baptised some years before with one name was actually a girl by another name. The mind boggles! At least, this was an error that was detected and rectified. In one parish there is a Binstead baptism of a “Jemima”. This was the only occurrence that I ever found of this name and I could find no further information about her: no marriage, no death, no burial. I also had references, census and children, to a “Jeremiah” born in that parish of the right age but for whom I could find no baptism. I have been forced to the conclusion that the “Jemima” entry is in fact a clerical (pardon the pun!) error for "Jeremiah". Wills Wills and many other types of other manuscript records are also a valuable source of information although they too can be frustrating. Children who died prior to the will are not usually mentioned and sometimes the living children are not named either. Not knowing the full tally of children or not knowing the age of the testator can sometimes cause problems in identification. One bizarre Binstead will reads "I leave to my eldest daughter Elizabeth...., I leave to my middlemost daughter Elizabeth.... and I leave to my youngest daughter Elizabeth...." Secondary sources Secondary sources differ from primary sources in that there is a level of human intervention between the original record and the researcher. Wherever there is human intervention, there exists an increased chance of error creeping in. BMD indexes The central indexes of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales at the Family Records Centre in Finsbury, formerly at St Katherine’s House, Aldwych, and before that at Somerset House, are an extremely useful aid, especially to one doing a one-name study. This is especially so inasmuch as from the early 1900’s the maiden name of the mother, in the case of births, and the surname of the spouse in both entries, in the case of marriages is given. This enables one to build preliminary family trees with a fairly high degree of accuracy from these indexes alone. From the second half of the 1800’s, the age at death is also included which, subject to the caveat already mentioned, is a great help in identifying many death entries when considered with other information to hand. These indexes, however, are also not without errors. There are omissions for a variety of possible reasons. I have had a correspondent write out their ancestor’s particulars in columns exactly as they would appear on a birth certificate but the name was absent from the indexes. I have encountered as well a number of instances of Binsteads being indexed as Bensteads and vice versa. Anyone who has spent time developing their physique by searching the indexes (if you have never been there, the volumes are large and heavy) will be aware that there are numbers of professional researchers at work. Some may work for themselves, others for genealogical companies and still others for lawyers. Many of them clearly know each other and have conversations while searching. I do not doubt that most of them do a fine job but I have also overheard remarks like “Oh, here’s a Thomas in the right place – he’ll do”. It makes one think. Transcripts of Census and Parish Registers It is a mistake to believe that transcripts in general, because they are printed, on microform or internet, are “official” and therefore trustworthy. In fact, the quality varies considerably. At the risk of generalisation, what one may term the “smaller” transcripts tend to be better. What I mean by this is that compilations by people with a genuine interest in the subject, such as genealogists or local history societies, have far fewer mistakes than transcripts compiled en masse, whether for gain or for their own sake. Mistakes can be found, nonetheless, even in these more careful compilations. An example would be confusion of Christian names where the registers use abbreviations; with certain styles of handwriting, "Tho" (Thomas) can and has been confused with "Jno" (John). Anyone who has consulted the 1901 census on-line will have experienced the extraordinary number of mistakes. Merely looking at the pages and pages of corrections submitted by researchers gives some indication of the problem. What about the researchers, like myself, who spot numerous mistakes but do not bother to notify anyone? (I know that this is not the ideal attitude, but visiting England is a very expensive exercise for someone from South Africa on an ill-health pension and I simply can not afford to waste time correcting mistakes that should not have been made in the first place.) What about the vast majority of names that are not being currently researched. The errors that have been brought to light are just the tip of the iceberg. Tertiary sources Tertiary sources involve more than one level of human intervention, thus multiplying the potential for error. International Genealogical Index This is surely the most massive genealogical effort ever undertaken and is an excellent source to turn to once one has exhausted the possibilities of the BMD’s and census records. It should be borne in mind, however, that this IS a tertiary source. The Mormons captured, for example, all the transcripts of parish registers in the various county archives. As already mentioned, the mere process of transcribing can introduce some degree of error and a second round of data capture can compound the situation. The moral is to use the IGI as a pointer to concentrations of the name you are interested in and to check, whenever possible, against the original records. Remember too, that the IGI does not comprise all the records that exist. For example, you might find in the IGI a Henry in about the right time and about the right parish. Just because you find no other Henry in the IGI who might fit does not necessarily make him the right one. It could be that in the neighbouring parish, whose register for that period has not been transcribed, there is another Henry who might also fit the bill. Having said that, the IGI is far and away the best source for quick and convenient trawling of pre-census and pre-BMD information. Trees on the Internet Doing a one-name study makes me an expert on all the Binsteads. This does not preclude my making a mistake but it does virtually insulate me against the mistakes of others. I have seen a Binstead tree published on the net with what I know to be mistakes. I know because my wider based research enables me to avoid certain pitfalls that those conducting research along a single line may fall into. I feel rather sorry for those who do an “all my ancestors” type of research and are very dependent on the offerings of others. Such a person’s family might, for example, tie into the Binstead tree just mentioned. With gratitude, he pulls if off the net and incorporates it, mistakes and all, into his research. Then someone else researching another name, find that his tree merges at some point with this last tree and, in turn pulls that into his own research. The net result of this process is an ever-increasing incidence of error. Binstead Binsted Binsteed family genealogy home page
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2004-2010 Richard Binstead for Binstead Binsted Binsteed family genealogy |
