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  • 15-07-2014 9:17am
    #1
    Newstreet
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭


    When you get back to the early 1800s, church records start to become patchy or non existent.

    However, I have managed to find some very evident siblings of my 3rd and 4th great grandparents, using the sponsors' names on the baptisms and marriages I do have. In some cases, the very same names occur repeatedly, and I am very confident that I have found siblings, where no parents have been found to verify it. In two cases, where my 3rd great grandmother has no baptism or parents found, I have found baptisms for two apparent siblings, which give her father's name, my 4th great grandfather.

    What this means, is that at the very top of the tree, I have some people who have not been verified by a direct pattern of church baptisms and marriages, giving parents' names for verification. Instead, I am using sponsors' names for verification and corroboration.

    In other cases, the siblings' names are less corroborated, perhaps by their appearance only once as sponsor on another family member's baptism or marriage, but the townland might be correct.

    At what point do you consider an ancestor to be fully verified? How much corroboration would you need? Of course it will get patchy the further back you go. But at what point would you not add an ancestor, through lack of corroboration of their name?


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    #2
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    Well, as you say, as you go further back, records are patchier.

    What I would do is examine how many pieces of corroborating evidence and make a decision. From what you posted here, I'd accept as an ancestor but do make sure to include in your notes how you arrived at this conclusion. You'll probably never get the 100% confirmation you'd like but it's an excellent likelihood.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #3
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    Just a note of caution about relying too heavily on sponsors' names: it looks to me as if, in some places where literacy levels were low, priests or ministers seemed to call on particular individuals quite frequently - presumably because they were able to sign registers. So unless the sponsor was clearly a family connection, you should consider the possibility that it was somebody that the priest or minister favoured.

    Yes, in the end it comes down to making a judgement call. Following on Pinky's reasoning, I think you should have a note on how strong the probability is. I have a possible name for a g-g-g-grandmother; I'd rate it about a 1 in 3 chance of being the right name. But it's not that big a deal, because I have nothing else linked with her - it's just a name. I don't care greatly about names: my interest is in trying to get the life stories of the people. I try to write mini-biographies of my ancestors.


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    #4
    shanew
    Registered Users Posts: 2,777 ✭✭✭shanew


    I've a few like that, some details match up, but not enough to be confirmed as family. I wouldn't add a witnesses or godparent as family based purely on their name, and particularly if the name is common in the area. In part of my tree I have Byrnes and Doyles in Co. Wicklow, all in the one parish (Bray) and most with common firstnames The Bray register for that time tends not to include an 'address' even outside the town - a maze just trying to put families together. Luckily the relatively uncommon firstname Denis appears for a time to helped separate at least a possible few connections.


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    #5
    Coolnabacky1873
    Registered Users Posts: 556 ✭✭✭Coolnabacky1873


    The Board for Certification of Genealogists in the US has a Genealogical Proof Standard that they use to accept members. They promote people applying it to their own research too.

    "Each element contributes to a conclusion's credibility in a different way, but all the elements are necessary to establish proof. Case studies in national genealogical journals, such as the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and The American Genealogist, illustrate the GPS."


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