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Oh dear! You're trying to research your family history and - oh no - you find you're descended from a line of Smiths. Or Jones's. Or maybe Browns. It would be so much easier if only your ancestors would called Weaslefrump or Spongborrow. (Actually we made those up, but they aren't any more unusual than some of the surnames you will come across on the censuses while you're trying to figure out which Smith or Jones spawned your line.)
How to avoid a nervous breakdown...... Surnames aren't everything. If you're lucky your Smith ancestor might be Enos Smith, or even Nebuchadnezzar Smith, in which case the chances are there won't be too many of them around.And whilst the surname Smith is found across the English-speaking world, there probably won't have been that many John Smiths born in a particular year in the average village. Instead of worrying about what you don't know, focus on what you do know, and see where that leads you. For example, some censuses can be searched by address, and you can search some by occupation. There are some useful tips on searching the England & Wales census here. Be very careful when searching partially complete indexes such as the International Genealogical Index or FreeBMD. It's natural to focus on the results that you find - but what about the ones that you didn't find, because they weren't in the index? |
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This website has absolutely no connection with a very old TV programme starring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones |