Sunday, January 18, 2015

Not quite a Genealogy do-over

I've decided not to do a full genealogy do-over for a number of reasons. Firstly, because I regularly take a particular line and review it to check if there are any gaps or any new information available. Secondly, because I have thousands of people in my database. And thirdly because I just don't have time. BUT I have decided to do a version of the do-over with a small subset of my tree.  To be precise, with one family - the Harding family from Somerset and Wiltshire.

The reason I have chosen this family is that since my genealogical epiphany (see earlier blog post) I have been trying to find time to revisit this family for some time. I tackled this family early in my research, and much of the information I have came from another researcher. That means it all needs verifying.  This "genealogy do-over" prompted me to tackle it in a structured way, rather than spasmodically approaching it parish by parish.

I am also using this as an opportunity to test out another genealogy program.  Not that I am intending to change the one I use at the moment.  But as The Master Genealogist (TMG), which I use, is no longer going to be developed there will probably come a time when I am forced to change. So this current test is using Legacy.  All that is happening is that I love TMG even more.  Legacy just isn't up to what I am used to and feel that I need.

So anyway, who are my Harding family?  I am descended from Elizabeth Harding, daughter James Harding of Henley Grove in Milton Clevedon, who in turn is descended from the Hardings of Mere in Wiltshire.

Map showing Henley Grove, the home of
James Harding
And have I discovered any errors yet?  Well, I've discovered one thing I'm not sure about.  Jane Harding, the daughter of James & Elizabeth Harding and sister of a direct ancestor, was baptised in Milton Clevedon, Somerset, on 13 May 1788.  I had her marrying Williiam Green in Milton Clevedon on 29 April 1817.  The entry actually says that Jane is from that parish, and a spinster. So far so good - she is the only Jane Harding baptised in that parish.  But it says they were married with consent of parents. Now Jane would have been at least 28 at that time, so didn't need consent of her parents (and in fact her father had died the previous year).  Could she really be marrying a man that much younger that permission was needed?  Yes, of course she could BUT I think it needs further verification just to be sure I have the right people.